Smoke

by Nicola Winstanley

Smoke is award-winning children’s author Nicola Winstanley’s first work for adults and it showcases her ability to create the unforgettable characters she’s known for. This deftly written linked short story collection moves between New Zealand and Canada following the lives of a fascinating collection of characters and considering the impact of intergenerational trauma on them from multiple points of view. Questions of responsibility and fate, and a search for understanding thread through these searing, often heartbreaking stories. Yet even though these are stories of loss, Smoke is ultimately a book about grace, one which calls not only for a rejection of guilt, but also for approaching the world with deep compassion.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

208 pages, Paperback

Published May 14, 2024

Reviews

[Terri (BooklyMatters) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stunning collection of short stories, told across decades and spanning New Zealand and Canada, each centering on one of a small group of loosely-connected women that have crossed paths, although their stories are told here individually. With incredible fineness the author slices through these literary lives, each story unwrapping a tiny and perfectly-formed world, coming to life within just a few pages, taking the reader on a deeply emotional journey that is impossible to break away from.

We are first introduced to perhaps the most touching of all the characters between these pages, — Amanda — as a young child in the 1970’s-era cover story “Smoke”. One of my very favorites (although it’s very hard to choose), in this heartbreakingly-beautiful story, Amanda (age not discussed but presumed around seven years old) faces neglect and grief as both her father, and sister, Judy, pull away emotionally after the death of their mother. Knowing at some level that her father’s crisis puts him in need of her as much as she needs him, Amanda, in her youth, is unable to connect, or understand, or express her emotions, remaining frozen in her vulnerability as her world, her entire developing identity, is blunted beyond repair.

We will meet Amanda again in several stories, along with others equally fascinating, tragic, distressing, frightening and inspiring. Damaged in ways that make them inappropriate and terrible parental figures, (as their own parents left a similar trail on them), these characters will be seen to suffer to survive, caught in damaging and often self-destructive cycles — each of them achingly real to us as they struggle to redeem themselves, pulling along the innocents they are often entangled with.

A collection not to be missed, I loved this book, these characters and these stories.

A great big thank you to @river_street_writes for an ARC of this brilliant collection. All thoughts presented are my own.

Note: this book contains many dark themes including emotional abuse, sexual assault, and suicide. This reader did skip one story, ‘It Means Beloved”, due to concern over triggering content concerning animal abuse.

[Justine · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

This book had an interesting premise for me. I haven’t read a book of short stories besides an anthology before so I was intrigued. Plus I’m trying to read more scant this year so it fits the bill. And I love this cover, it’s so eye catching and I started reading it while we have started forest fire season here in Alberta so it has been Smokey.
As for the stories, I didn’t initially remember m/ realize that the short stories all connect and or shared characters, about halfway through it finally kicked in lol. Some of the stories, well most were really sad or traumatic. Also I hate when there’s animal abuse. So that was a hard one for me. I enjoyed seeing our characters in different situations(even if most were an almost fight or flight situation). These characters had hard lives that’s for sure. I didn’t exactly connect with any of the characters, but I did feel bad for them nd some aspects of how they were raised nd how that shaped their thinking of their worth.
Overall this read was a good experience for me and I did enjoy it. I would definitely read more by Nicola Winstanley in the future.
Thanks to River Street Writes, Nicola Winstanley and Wolsey and Wynn Publishers for the copy.

[Alison Gadsby · Rating 5 out of 5]

If the title story, SMOKE – the first in Nicola Winstanley’s collection – is any indication of what’s to come, I am here for it. A domestic story full of grief, emotional abandonment and kids trying to figure out how to live without parents to show them how. It takes place in a time when mothers shouted their children home for dinner when the sun fell, but what do you do if you don’t have a mother?

Slipping into the second story, EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON, we get the best friend of the previous story’s protagonist, a popular girl who is the boss at school, but unloved at home. She makes a drastic decision to gain the attention she craves but gets lost and discovers things – and people – aren’t always as they appear.

SMOKE is a collection of stories with the thread of trauma and sexual abuse, either tethered loosely or woven tightly, connecting them. I thought at one point the collection belonged mostly to Amanda, as her life is given to the reader chronologically in various stories, but when we learn the truth about her father Ernie, I couldn’t help but think about the bad parents in a different light. Like every great short story, it is the story we are not told that holds the truth.

[Jane Mulkewich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given an Advance Reading Copy (thanks Wolsak & Wynn!) and I really enjoyed this new short story collection by local author Nicola Winstanley. As the dustjacket says, this is a linked short story collection moving between New Zealand and Canada, with a fascinating collection of characters and considers intergenerational trauma on them from multiple points of view. The locations / time periods / points of view are varied enough that sometimes the reader takes a few minutes to realize that we have met these characters before; I would like to re-read this collection of stories to fully appreciate the story arc that holds all these stories together.

[kylie! · Rating 5 out of 5]

wowowowow. this book broke my heart and put it back together, confused me and showed me clarity all at the same time. it is beautifully written and portrays inter generational trauma in such an educational way. It's so refreshing to read a book with different perspectives like this, broken up into short stories from each characters life. this book beautifully depicts love, religion, trauma, uncertainty, and life. it was an amazing read.

However i will put a TW on this book, as it depicts sexual abuse, domestic abuse, animal abuse, and drug use.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this collection with a mixture of anxiety and dread - Nicola is so gifted at packing SO MUCH into such a small space. The atmosphere is a bit of a bleak one, and yet you're always rooting for the characters - to connect, to parent, to get out, to get well. The details push the stories ever forward, and they can also break your heart.

I'm still thinking about Margot, about her father, the dog and the foundling, about Amanda and her own father, about Dinah. It's a gorgeous collection.

[Emily Weedon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicola Winstanley is a fantastic writer and a brave one. She dives into the difficult. She's so gifted at rising action and creating characters the reader cares about and putting them in harms way.