All in Together Girls

I'm afraid I didn't get any short stories read this week (I'm trying to read at least one a week).  I do have a couple of collections sitting close by that I intend to dip into soon, but I thought I would mention Kate Sutherland's short story collection, All In Together Girls, which I finished reading recently.  I rationed myself to one story a day, which I could conveniently fit into my break at work, but I always found myself wanting more.  It's very rare that I find myself wanting to pick up a short story collection to read, so I hope this has helped get me into that habit more often.

Kate has a wonderful way of evoking the lives of girls and women.  I think I was especially drawn to these stories as the time period she situated most of them in was about the same time I was growing up and having similar experiences.  Well, perhaps not always similar, but I could certainly appreciate the feelings that the characters were dealing with.  The 14 stories are set mainly in Saskatchewan, Canada.  At the center of each story is a girl or young woman trying to find her place in the world--something we've all gone through and know how painful that can be at times.  First loves, friendships, trying to fit in, dealing with parents, being on your own for the first time--Kate writes about these things realistically in clean, spare prose.

The title story, "All in Together Girls" is from a jump rope rhyme.  The story deals with two friends who are on the outside looking in.  I think that's a common feeling when growing up.  There is always a group of cool kids who never seem to take notice of anyone else, and when they do it is usually in a negative way.  In the story one friend will be accepted, at least for a short while, into that cool inner realm.  The experience won't be a pleasant one, and by the time she figures out what's going on, she'll discover she's alone in the end.  I liked the contrast in "She's a Rocker".  Sometimes it doesn't matter if you don't fit in.  When a girl comes to the city to visit her cool cousin, she stands out like a sore thumb.  She takes the situation in stride however, joining in, but not losing her own sense of identity and happily walks away from the experience in the end.

Another favorite story, "The Necklace", is about learning how to be on your own.  The necklace is a string of faux pearls that was bought on a trip to Paris when the character went off on her own to explore the city unbeknownst to her parents.  In her first independent act she buys the pearls from a peddler in a metro station.  It isn't until she is alone at university in Toronto that she really learns how to make her own decisions.

Two of the best stories in the collection have foreign settings.  In "Notes from a Documentary" a young woman goes to Scotland to do research for a documentary on the Scottish fishing industry, where she also visits her ailing grandmother.  The story is written with such an lovely sense of place.  I think "Outside the Frame" was my very favorite story in the collection.  Two stories run parallel within one.  A woman leaves her husband but finds little sympathy from her mother.  Instead she is given a box with memorabilia in it, including a photograph taken when her mother and father were in Paris.  The photo is of her mother looking in a window and the multiple reflections of her.  While the daughter is getting out of a bad situation, she finds her mother was stuck in hers. 

Although the stories in the collection are independent of each other, the characters do occasionally slip into and out of the various other stories, which I liked.  I don't think there was a single story that I didn't enjoy.  This is an excellent collection to pick up if you are not apt to choose short stories.  You might just find yourself like me--a short story convert!  I am finding that I greatly appreciate the talent it takes to create a whole world within just a few pages and populate it with characters of both complexity and depth.  Kate Sutherland has just such a talent.   

Comments

[Nicola]

This sounds just wonderful! I love stories set in the Canadian Prairies. I'll have to see if I can find a copy of this. Thanks.

[Dorothy W.]

Nice review! I liked your description of "Outside the Frame" -- one of my favorite stories from the book.

[Mary]

Largely due to your enthusiastic posts about short stories, I made an impulse buy of The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel while at my local independent bookstore this weekend. I know nothing about her or the book but "short stories" appealed due to your reminders of how enjoyable they can be. I don't read them often either but greatly enjoyed Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies. I found her style more powerful in the short stories than in the novel (the Namesake).

[Danielle]

Nicola--You do get a sense of place reading these stories. I hope you enjoy them!
Dorothy--I think that was my particular favorite, but I enjoyed them all really.
Mary--I have really been enjoying them, and I hope I stay in the habit of reading them. I think if I try and post once a week on a short story I will be more apt to fit one into my normal reading. You'll have to let me know how the Hempel book is--she is a new author to me. And I also have the Lampiri book of short stories as well. I'll have to dig that one out now that you've reminded me.

[Andi]

I've heard nothing but good things about this collection (and Kate used to drop by my blog occasionally). Must bump it to the top o'the stack!

[Melanie]

I think that "She's a Rocker" was one of my favourites from this collection, even if I couldn't remember the title when I was reviewing this collection a couple of weeks ago. Sigh. I enjoyed this book as much as you did!

[Litlove]

These sound wonderful! I really must get hold of this book. I like Kate so much and have admired all her blog writing.

[LK]

Great review, and also a great reminder that I need to nudge Amazon -- I pre-ordered many moons ago and never received my copy!

[Danielle]

Andi--It is very enjoyable--something you can easily pick up and dip into.
Melanie--I thought that story was great, too. It's not often a teen is so confident to be like she was. I actually took notes when I was reading this--something I rarely do.
Litlove--I enjoy her blog posts, too. I think this must be the first time I've read something by someone I 'sort of' know.
LK--You need to get on them! Amazon is pretty good usually, but once and a while orders seem to get lost in a black hole somewhere.