Greater City Shadows

by Laurie Steed

A man treads water in the Swan River, hoping to bring his friend back to shore. Three siblings gaze skyward seeking a comet among the stars. A mother and daughter grapple with their fraught relationship and an inappropriate birthday cake. Bushfires sweep a Perth suburb while a woman, still burnt from a previous relationship, lessens the divide between an individual and their community.
In Greater City Shadows, Laurie Steed shines a light on the tremendous complexity and beauty of everyday relationships. From unrequited first love and burnt flames of the past to early parenthood stresses and tense friendships. These short stories are vulnerable and tender — a captivating collection reminding us that to be connected is to be human.
‘Evocative and engaging, Greater City Shadows shows how the short story form, in the hands of a skilful writer, can offer profound insights into people’s inner and outer lives.’ — Susan Midalia
‘Timely, tender and true, Greater City Shadows is a superb collection of stories.‘ — Ryan O’Neill

Genres: Short Stories

Paperback

About the author

Laurie Steed is the author of You Belong Here, published 2018, and the editor of Shibboleth and other stories, published 2016. His short fiction has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and published in Best Australian Stories, Award Winning Australian Writing, The Age, Meanjin, Westerly, Island, and elsewhere. He lives in Perth, Western Australia.

Reviews

[Alyssa Shapland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful collection - stories of loves lost, on the line and trying to be saved; of relationships between lovers, families, friends. All framed so lovingly by the way we see ourselves in the greater fabric of the places we live. The city in all its gritty beauty shines through every one of these pieces.

This is just a Laurie Steed fan account now.

[~Emmy~ REYN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Library borrowed e-book
I LOVED the Perth WA References
Lots of touches on memorable 90's and Naughts adolescence and the transition to parenthood.
Short stories sometimes blurred.
Can Re Read.

[Toby · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's ten years since you saw Beth at a juice joint that promised so much but only gave you wheatgrass. She told you she was reading The Five Love Languages, bought it secondhand on Barrack. She went through them, one by one, and you wanted to say, 'They're all just acts of service?’

You told your sister, Rachael, this same story, and she shouted, 'God, you love her!' An exciting revelation, but years too late, like hearing that song Beth always played, with the lyrics only now making sense. In time, you saw her wedding pics on Facebook, and you had to concede that on her special day Beth was the most beautiful girl you had ever seen.

[Marles Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a lot of beauty and sadness in a relationship. Laurie Steed spares no expense in highlighting the emotion and despondency of what it is to be caught in a relationship, and is able to pull this darkness to the other side to meet the light and warmth as each of his short stories end. There are glimmers of sunshine, optimism and sweetness at the close of each story – sometimes hitting the mark, sometimes a bit too good to be true. They all highlight the fragility and stupidity of humanity: we create our own barriers to connect, we allow communication to breakdown and we are also sometimes unwilling to say what we really feel. These stories seem to dissolve the sickly sweet rose-coloured kind of romance that permeates many books about relationships, and provides a realistic view of what love and connection can look like if you just try hard enough.
The two stories that caught my attention were Nova and Wait for Me. Nova resonated with me in its exploration of Fran and June, daughter and mother, and their stilted relationship and inability to be and accept the vulnerabilities flitting between them. I love the reflection of Hall and Oates lyrics in Wait for Me as a guiding voice for the emotions felt in a relationship:
“Uncle Daryl says “Wait for Me” is about hope: that when things seem tough, there's always something just around the corner. And it’s close, he says. It's so close you could almost touch it.”
If you’re looking for a little bit of light to highlight the complexity of ordinary relationships – the ones we live every day – the this book of short stories will be your antidote. There is a tenderness and a softness that will remind you of how important it is to feel connection, and be connected.

[Carol - Reading Writing and Riesling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genuine, heartfelt humaneness in every story.

[Kate Larsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gentle, generous and insightful gift of short fiction about vulnerability, relationships, identity and humanity.