Closure: Contemporary Black British Short Stories

by Jacob Ross (Editor), Raman Mundair (Contributor)

From well-known and award-winning authors—including Bernardine Evaristo, Fred D’Aguiar, and Leone Ross—to previous unpublished writers, this ambitious and intriguing anthology of short stories showcases each author’s most challenging work. These works from writers who are happy to describe themselves as Black British, have a rich variety of styles, forms, and themes, from raw realism, the erotic, and elegant economy, to the fanciful, humorous, and the tender. The contributors to Closure display a keen awareness of the short story form in all its contemporary possibilities as a way of telling and finding a form for the writer’s vision. These are stories about the ways in which we do and do not love, unrequited yearnings, the quiet and often hidden violence in our lives, moments of epiphany, and the precious occasions of jubilation and uplift.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Race

212 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2015

About the author

Jacob Ross was born in Grenada, and has lived in Britain since 1984. He is a poet, playwright, journalist, novelist and a tutor of creative writing. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and has been a judge of the V.S. Pritchett Memorial Prize, the Olive Cook, Scott Moncrieff and Tom-Gallon Literary Awards.
~ Sources: Government of Grenada and Peepal Tree Press

Reviews

[Seymone · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some really good stories, 1-2 exceptional stories, but definitely more good than bad.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

"When friends tell you their good news, you will simply smile and then send them gift baskets of baked goods because your heart is a lighthouse, as opposed to say, a black dwarf star, colder than Alaska." p.29

"He stood out because he was exceedingly tall and held his head as though the clouds belonged to him." p.44

"Charu Deol thought it strange that a building could be protected. There were people playing music on the trains for money, and two nights ago, he'd seen a man wailing for cold in the street. He thought the government of such a fine, big city might make sure people were protected first." p.90

"Donna was polishing champagne flutes in an area of the bar that provided a chapel of rest from unwanted conversations, when Gaving approached her." p.124

[About time] ""Yes, that's very true. But you see, sometimes it petrifies... sometimes it petrifies. And you're left with just the rocks to carry around."" p.125

"Why hadn't she stayed in Roaring River, married some bush man who did nothing but dig up yams from the rusty earth." p.190

"by wednesday and thursday we are hiding in the dark, the rain taking all signs of laughter out of the sky." p.193

"there is a point when tired becomes more than just an exhausted body. it becomes the experiences you no longer want to have, the stories you are beyond wanting to make sense of." p.194

"after you'd long gone, i'd drive past your flat on the nights everything in me begged to come home to you, hoping to catch a glimpse of you on the balcony. the winter let nothing out, though, the curtains holding you in, my windows fogging over when i put them back up. and just as i'd almost given up, spring came and so did your new lover and freshly painted white walls. your balcony was now filled with things in full bloom." p.199

"Pigeons are the bane of the wedding photographer's life, yet my favourite pictures are the ones with their blurred bodies in the shot. They are there and not there at the same time. In this way, I think I am like them." p.226

[martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptionally enjoyable and thought-provoking collection of short stories by black and minority ethnic British writers, most of whom, sadly, I had not previously been aware of.
Jacob Ross has made sure the stories reflect modern realities for a generation born and brought up and living in the UK - and he has chosen well. He notes that "here, like the music instructor deciding who she wants to be, are characters more concerned with the treacherous business of confronting their own demons in 21st century Britain than in the injustices levelled against their forebears"

I'd like to read more by several of the authors here. Standouts for me among others are Fred D'Aguiar, Pete Kalu, Hana Riaz, while Monica Ali and Bernardine Evaristo shine as expected.

[TAN · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology is what reading hard is about—one I'm only happy to refer to time and time again.

[Simone · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Rita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uma selecção cuidadosa de histórias, algumas melhores que outras.





34/198 – Granada

[S.J. Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Buy it!

[Baraka360 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic…

Throughly enjoyed this collection… such a delight, every short story was stellar. I’m wondering how I can abreast of every writer’s journey from this book.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.6 - read for my Publishing and Power module, really excellent anthology, deeply moving and tragic and beautiful stories. Some didn't hit the mark for me but so many of them did.

[Luke Alderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Occasionally excellent, rarely dull

[Deaddad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection brings high-profile authors such as Monica Ali and Bernardine Evaristo together with lesser known – to me – writers. Editor Jacob Ross has a purpose: taking “Black Britishness as read – a lived reality that is like air or breath or blood”. With 32 stories, it is a rich and varied serving. Many of the stories focus on the domestic – and marriage, friendship, parent/child relationships feature heavily. The stories that stood out to me are the ones that made the most of the form and brought an added dimension and depth, whether lyricism, surprise, the fantastical or compressing the romantic historical sweep of Evaristo’s ‘Yoruba Man Walking’ into just 13 pages. And the stand-out to me was Leone Ross’s ‘The Mullerian Experience’ – in which magic realism is used to brilliant effect to reinforce the - very real - horrors inflicted on women. Chilling and unforgettable.