The High Places: Stories

by Fiona McFarlane

What a terrible thing at a time like to own a house, and the trees around it. Janet sat rigid in her seat. The plane lifted from the city and her house fell away, consumed by the other houses. Janet worried about her own particular garden and her emptied refrigerator and her lamps that had been timed to come on at six. So begins "Mycenae," a story in The High Places , Fiona McFarlane's first story collection. Her stories skip across continents, eras, and genres to chart the borderlands of emotional life. In "Mycenae," she describes a middle-aged couple's disastrous vacation with old friends. In "Good News for Modern Man," a scientist lives on a small island with only a colossal squid and the ghost of Charles Darwin for company. And in the title story, an Australian farmer turns to Old Testament methods to relieve a fatal drought. Each story explores what Flannery O'Connor called "mystery and manners." The collection dissects the feelings--longing, contempt, love, fear--that animate our existence and hints at a reality beyond the smallness of our lives. Salon 's Laura Miller called McFarlane's The Night Guest "a novel of uncanny emotional penetration . . . How could anyone so young portray so persuasively what it feels like to look back on a lot more life than you can see in front of you?" The High Places is further evidence of McFarlane's preternatural talent, a debut collection that reads like the selected works of a literary great.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Australia, Book Club, 21st Century, Contemporary, Literature

288 pages, Hardcover

First published May 10, 2016

About the author

Fiona McFarlane grew up in Sydney, Australia. She studied English at Sydney University and completed a PhD on nostalgia in American fiction at Cambridge University. She spent 3 years at writing residencies in the US - at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts and Philips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire - before studying for a Masters of Fine Arts in Fiction at the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas, Austin.

Fiona's first novel, The Night Guest, will be published in 19 countries and 15 languages, and has been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award, the Stella Prize, an LA Times Book Review prize, an INDIE Award, the Dobbie Literary Award and an Australian Book Industry Award. The Night Guest won a NSW Premier's Prize and Fiona was named a Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist for 2014.

Fiona's short stories have been published in Zoetrope: All-Story, Southerly, Best Australian Stories, New Australian Stories 2, the Missouri Review and the New Yorker. She is currently completing a collection, to be published by Penguin Australia, Sceptre (UK) and Faber and Faber (US).

Reviews

[Hugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't remember what prompted me to pick this one up, but I am glad that I did. This collection of 13 stories has a diverse set of protagonists and a variety of settings. McFarlane's writing is perceptive and readable and the stories often take unexpected turns. There is also plenty of dry humour.

[Michael Livingston · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the first sentence, "The wife was driving on the night they hit Mr. Ronald," you know you're in for a treat with this collection. McFarlane's writing is endlessly surprising - words, phrases and sentences are original and spark with creativity. The stories are wonderful too - capturing moments in people's lives where things pivot, even without the characters being aware of it. A few of the stories build the same uneasy menace that made The Night Guest such a stunning achievement, while others add surreal moments that somehow bring out real truths.

Read this - read it now.

[Maya Panika · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I could have liked this book more. I respected it very much; the writing is very fine, consistently and beautifully imaginative, creative, often poetic. My problem is with tales that I'm enjoying but that suddenly veer from their course – surprise for surprise’s sake and then go nowhere, with obscure ‘clever’ endings (that were not that clever in that they were consistent in style to the point of being, ultimately, predictable), and I really dislike conclusions that are just endings.
The stories themselves are a mixed bunch; some were great, others mediocre. All felt like great beginnings - good ideas that could all have become more. I recognise that this is part of the artistry of the form but it’s not a thing I appreciate and, though I greatly enjoyed the artistry and most of the tales, the overall experience left me unsatisfied.

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*
I enjoyed the majority of these short stories and i would say 4 or 5 really stood out to me as great. The others were good in part but i felt they trailed off or lost the overall meaning in a way. This was a shame as it had the potential to be much better.
I understand that it is maybe just the way it is written or meant.to be put across. someone could find it differently. For a 10k cash prize tho!😬
On the whole these stories were worth a read to me and i enjoyed the 4 or 5 that really were amazing! The way they were delivered and the way they really inspired you to think about the context made it hard to put down.
From exotic animal medicine to the high places i found : the idea of compassion, understanding, sacrifice, re birth and the chance to change for the good of humankind within.
An enjoyable read

[Peter Boyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book a while ago as it was in the news for winning the Dylan Thomas Prize. The lovely cover also caught my eye, I must admit. But I'm sorry to say that The High Places made little impression on me overall.

If there is a theme to these stories, it's that the people in them are jolted out of their ordinary lives by an unexpected event. A bored office worker becomes excited by fresh possibilities when his mother wins the lottery. During World War II, the occupants of an Queensland farm are amazed to see American parachutists falling from the sky onto their fields. A shy researcher finds his hotel stay disrupted by an old man and his mysterious parrot. These unforeseen incidents force the characters to examine their own existence in a new light.

I've read short story collections before where there isn't much in the way of action, but this was compensated by extraordinary emotional insight (the works of Raymond Carver and Elizabeth Strout come to mind). However the tales in this book are neither eventful nor particularly perceptive - to be honest I found them flat and unremarkable. Some of the stories have an interesting set-up but ultimately go nowhere. I've seen reviews refer to this anthology as "deliciously unsettling" but I wasn't invested in the characters enough to care about their fates. An award-winner it may be, but The High Places just wasn't for me.

[T.D. Whittle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, subtle, elegant stories. McFarlane's styles is gentle and understated, so if you like big drama leading to a staggering finish, you should probably look elsewhere. For my part, I find her writing refreshing in today's context where so much is overdone, across media and the arts and in public life.

[Louise Omer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love short stories again.

McFarlane proves that the best writers are those who are deeply intimate with the absurd logic and hidden desires of people.

[Calzean · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing in this book reached great heights. There were some great opening lines. There were a range of characters, geographic areas, topics covered, countries and time periods in use.
A lot of the stories were a bit bleak so avoid if you are looking for a cheery book.
My only problem were the endings. Just a tad to clever, to many curved-balls. But as the stories were written over a 10 year period for a variety of different publishing events I can understand that each story at the time of writing had to pack a stand-alone punch.

[Angelin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Out of 13 stories, maybe only 1 or 2 struck a chord with me. In my opinion, short stories should have an "ahh..." moment at the end, when whatever was said in the main body of the story just clicked into place in the concluding paragraph or sentence. However, the stories in the collection held none of that for me, and some even reminded me of mediocre level composition writing. A lot of times, the stories end abruptly without a hook, leaving the reader with question marks, yet no curiosity for what happens next because of the lack of suggestion of any particular path protagonists would take. I would say that it was a particularly disappointing experience for me.

[jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is August 2021 and I have been very in and out with short fiction but also perhaps it is August 2021 and I just associate the genre with loaded pivot points in the past,, something about melodramatic writer types and an affinity for short fiction lmao. But, there are those that frustrate me in the form in ways that ride on gimmick and gotchas which can be fun but also feel like writing exercises (lowkey this is @ george saunders). Professor McFarlane's collection is very generous and reframes the charge with what short fiction could be,, always makes me want to stay a while. Her words are electric and twisty and familiar in surprising ways; I never know when I am about to highlight something in the work but when I do it is reflexive and occurs somewhat often and that is cool.

I recommend :) some sweetness fading further into the past some eight months later, into something I imagine I could brave revisiting. weeeeeeeeeee

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first sentence struck me, and then every subsequent sentence lost me more and more. No matter which way I slice it, short stories feel like a troublesome tax on my brain. Novels are what I need.

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed McFarlane's debut novel, The Night Guest, but was left a little underwhelmed when I finished it, perhaps due to all of the hype which surrounded its publication, and its presence on several prize shortlists. I was still suitably excited when I found out about her short story collection, The High Places; I had a feeling that a shorter form would suit her prose style more. It does.

Every tale present in this collection is strong and interesting, and each manages to be just the right length. The writing is more assured and more controlled than in her debut, and there are some splendid turns of phrase and examples of character development within. I would have given this a five-star rating had it not been for the final story, which was incidentally the only one in the collection I didn't enjoy.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author: Fiona McFarlane
Title: The High Places (13 stories, 288 pg)
Genre: short stories
Published: 2016

Quick Scan:
Fiona McFarlane is the winner of £30,000 Dylan Thomas Prize 2017.
The prize is open to writers in the English language aged 39 and under.


Conclusion:
Short stories are a joy to read….…but a chore to review!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Everyone will have their own favorites stories…but mine are:
Mycenae (Janet….I loved her!)
Man and Bird ( …shortest story in collection…but packs a punch!)
Violet, Violet (enchanting, had to laugh out-loud!)
The High Places (reveals the meaning of the title!)
#MustRead Fiona McFarlane

[Georgie G · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a great range of stories in this selection, some more memorable than others: for example, 'Art Appreciation', the story of a wooing and a relationship in 1960s Sydney is unexpectedly suspenseful, but ultimately the lovely writing and well-wrought locales didn't outweigh the thinner-than-air characters of other stories. I loved Fiona McIntosh's novel The Night Guest but I think longer forms are her forte where she can slowly create a world through the gradual accretion of facets of people and place and so it's to that next novel I look forward to.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. This book is a series of short stories written in McFarlane's wonderful lyrical style and with her somewhat screw-ball subject choices. This book has won the Dylan Thomas prize and I expected perhaps too much from it as a result. I have to say I didn't like the first story at all, and the others were well-written but not really my thing either. Worth a look, but for my money there are other short story collections out right now that offer a more satisfying read. McFarlane's The Night Guest is, however, a satisfying and thought-provoking read.

[Smitha · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of short stories, some of them, particularly the first story and some interspersed in between were brilliant. Having said that for me, most of the others didn't work. Characters I couldn't figure your or storylines that didn't work for me. But that might have been me. I was left wondering at the end, which I do enjoy but in a these set of stories, I felt there was something missing

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the review copy of this book.

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

No matter how hard I try, I just do not get short stories. I read more than half of the stories in this book, and they would all just conclude without an obvious purpose. So strange.

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are well written stories with some interesting characters but the darkness in the stories got to me by the time I had finished the collection.

[Eugenia (Genie In A Book) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come!

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first few short stories and then became impatient with the fantastical nature of some of the others. If you enjoy that sort of story, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to get a reading copy through work and The High Places was everything I wanted it to be. I enjoyed The Night Guest and jumped at the opportunity to snag this book pre-release. McFarlane has a distinct, and unusual voice. The use of animals once again, big and small, domestic and from the sea, reeled me in with Exotic Animal Medicine but my favourite short story was Violet, Violet. I never miss an opportunity to support Australian authors and I'll be excited to recommend this to customers once it hits the shelves!

[Cosied · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although not all the short stories in this collection are equally satisfying, I thought the writing was great. I look forward to reading more from Fiona McFarlane - she is a young Australian writer to watch.

[Patricia Geller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wish I could give this book a 3.5 as some of the stories, all located in Australia, were solid 5 but the collection was uneven. I will still look for her first novel.

[Ilana · Rating 4 out of 5]

VERY interesting. Not sure I completely "got" every story, but I did like them very much. My favorite: "Rose Bay".

[Kate Mcloughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful collection of stories, quirky and moving. I especially liked the one about the couples on holidays in Greece together.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a some excellently written stories here but feel it is somehow not quite there as a collection. What do I want from a collection? An opportunity to get to know the writer and their style, intellect and versatility. I just did not feel a connection here. The first story was a well done opener and gave a positive start. The second story, however, read like the author had decided on writing a New Yorker story and has, all kudos to her, done just that. It is a timeless piece of fiction but far from insightful.

The stories that succeeded for me were ones that focused on just one or two characters. Here I felt the author was allowed to flourish. The seeming need to direct stories toward an ending, the desire for plot structure, undermined the development and enjoyment of the character. I am a reader that does not insist on a conventional shape to a story.

Not so sure I would seek out other books by this author. Copy borrowed from the library.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

McFarlane is an Australian author with a wide range of ability to write about the past and the present and to put forth some moral conundrums in a short story that will make you examine your own choices in those situations. Hopefully action with less ambiguity, but that's what escapist about these stories. They often involve someone leaving at a crucial moment (Exotic Animal Medicine leaves the scene of a crime; Violet, Violet leaves stealthily through the night with someone else's possession, but with a detailed drawing left behind; Rose Bay has a young woman leaving behind her family due to a secret that would hurt them all) They often also have an element of spirituality (Good News for Modern Man, The High Places) and a tenuous grip on reality (Man and Bird, The Movie People). Enjoyable for the open-ended, thought-provoking rumination they promote. Would be great for discussion.

[Owen Townend · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't expect the stories to be set in Sydney nor do I think this is an essential part of the plots, let alone a unanimous theme.
The stories and style didn't stick out for me except where they veered into dream-like or nightmarish imagery.
Competing couples and teenage girls in lax family environments are one thing, village hysteria and mechanical birds are quite another.

Notable Stories

• Violet, Violet - a sweet mystery even if it does involve the deconstruction of a potentially mechanical canary.
• The Movie People - the exaggerated way in which the people are swept up in 'movie magic' made me smile.
• Buttony - this sweet school tale has a cruel but credible twist: withholding can be truly sociopathic.

[Cass Moriarty · Rating 4 out of 5]

The High Places (Penguin Random House 2016) by Fiona McFarlane is a collection of short stories, following on from her successful debut novel The Night Guest, which featured the indistinct mental health of a woman who may - or may not - have seen a tiger in her garden. The stories in The High Places are all similarly ambiguous in their details - we never know if the narrator is unreliable, mentally unwell, hallucinating or dreaming. The stories are peopled with characters drawn with sharp acuity, and the circumstances of each tale are painted with an observant and critical eye. There is a great deal of variation: a road accident; a lottery win; a reunion with old friends; an automaton bird; stories of wartime and travel. Many of the stories feature characters in an unbalanced mental state, whether that be due to a mental illness, or a fever-inducing disease, or even the mass hysteria of a whole town. The line is blurred between what is real and what is imagined, between what is true and what is false. Individual characters are demonised or revered for their faith and / or their visionary talents. In Cara Mia, we are given the tender portrait of a rambunctious family where the oldest daughter acts in the role of mother; we see her adolescent yearning and relations with her mother's boyfriend come dangerously close to crossing the line. Perhaps my favourite is Unnecessary Gifts, although I couldn't say exactly why. Something about the simplicity of the children's actions, the naivety of their motives, the inevitability of the chain of events. This story - as do so many others - highlights the fact of the short story as a small snapshot of life, a freeze-frame, with no clear ending, but rather leaving us with an open-ended question about what might come afterwards. There is no doubt that these stories are exquisitely crafted but none of them conclude neatly. Be prepared to want more of the characters, more about the story, more depth. Of course, the nature of the form means that we cannot have all of these things. And the wanting is in one sense a positive effect of a story well told, and in another, perhaps, a lack of some undefinable quality that would satisfy our hunger to know more. Whether the reader finds this ambiguity delightful or frustrating may be up to the individual, but all will appreciate the skill and care with which the stories have been constructed.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

These short stories are very well written and the author's skills are evident throughout. At times I felt the stories were too carefully crafted giving them a coldness and a sense of detachment. I'm not a big fan of the "clever" ending which some short story writers seem to think is obligatory. Fiona McFarlane is such a good writer, I would like to see something more emotional and less controlled from her.