The Best Australian Stories 2015

The Best Australian Stories

by Amanda Lohrey (Editor), Goldie Goldbloom (Contributor), John Alan Scott (Contributor)

‘Some readers are drawn to the promise inherent in a novel, and it’s true that the longer form can offer a slow and seductive immersion, but the short story offers pleasure of another kind – the quick fix, a shot of adrenaline to the mind and heart.’—Amanda Lohrey

In The Best Australian Stories 2015, Amanda Lohrey, winner of the Patrick White Award and author of the acclaimed novel A Short History of Richard Kline, curates twenty pieces of exceptional short fiction.

In this wide-ranging collection, there are stories that will surprise, unsettle and beguile readers. Familiar subjects are examined from new perspectives: a teenage girl sneaks into a famous film director's study and steals his diaries; the life of Picasso is reimagined in miniature vignettes. And new life is breathed into the most universal of experiences: birth, death, love and loss. The mother of a girl with hearing difficulties watches her child grow into increasing independence. A young woman makes a poignant voyage to the site of her brother’s suicide.

Elegant, accomplished and evocative, these short stories move, delight and inspire.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published October 27, 2015

About the author

Amanda Lohrey is a novelist and essayist. She was educated at the University of Tasmania and Cambridge. She lectured in Writing and Textual Studies at the Sydney University of Technology (1988-1994), and since 2002 at the School of English, Media Studies and Art History at the University of Queensland in Brisbane.

Reviews

[Eustachio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leggendolo mi sono reso conto che da questa raccolta mi aspettavo un'Australia turistica, quando invece l'Australia non è l'ambientazione obbligatoria (il primo racconto è in Italia, ma abbiamo anche Africa, Giappone, Malesia e Indonesia). Spesso era in qualche dettaglio buttato lì, nomi e atteggiamenti che due anni fa non avrei notato.
L'altra sorpresa è stata ricordarmi che un'antologia senza un tema, senza neanche la nazionalità australiana come requisito, scritta da autori diversi e spesso esordienti, non può fare a meno di avere un pregio: ogni racconto è da considerarsi a sé stante, se ce n'è uno che ti ha fatto impazzire il prossimo può anche farti schifo, e viceversa.

The Pilgrim's Way: **
Picasso: A Shorter Life: **
2 or 3 Things I Know About You: ***
Puppet Show: ***
Thre Three Treasures: ****
Little Toki: ***
The Abduction of Ganymede: ****
On Ice: ****
The Level Playing Field: **
How Is Your Great Life?: **
Supernova: ***
Alphabet: ****
Into the Woods: ****
Somethilg Wild: ****
Better Things: *****
Aokigahara: ***
The Same Weight as a Human Heart: **
Vital Signs: **
Twenty Dollars: ****
Manyuk: ****

Che consigli mi dà questa raccolta? Troppi esordienti che non hanno pubblicato altro, purtroppo. Mi accontento di Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows di Balli Kuar Jaswal e The Weight of a Human Heart: Stories di Ryan O'Neill.

[Philippa · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining and varied selection - as with most short story collections by widely different writers, some were more to my taste than others. My favourites were ones that drilled down to the profound and unspeakable loneliness experienced in intimate relationships (Puppet Show by Cate Kennedy, Alphabet by Ryan O'Neill, Manyuk by Mark Smith) and the one I'm still thinking about is The Level Playing Field by Julie Koh, a surreal and very clever fable about privilege, diversity, economic equality and, topically, arts funding. Perhaps she had a premonition?! A high 3 stars to reflect not all the stories appealed to me but those that did were excellent.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the short form. The investment needed is far less than that needed for a novel, but the pay-off is just as satisfying, if not more so. This collection does not disappoint.

[Anne Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the introduction to this collection, Amanda Lohrey explains what she looks for in a short story - she wants to be told something new, to be surprised by the writing and most of all she looks for what she calls a "hit" - something that leaves her stirred in the same way you feel when you see an astonishing athletic achievement.

In the main, this collection delivers on that criteria, although there were some that fell below the radar for me. Those that stirred me the most were John A. Scott's "Picasso: A Shorter Life", Melissa Beit's "The Three Treasures", Gay Lynch's "The Abduction of Ganymede"and Julie Koh's "The Level Playing Field."

[Anne Connolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This edition of Aus Stories holds together well in terms of the art of the short story. One gem stands out for me though and that's Cate Kennedy's Puppet Show - it gives an example of the kind of writing I have come to expect from Kennedy. She pulls together - using great tension , a story that sends so many strong messages, about tourists, Australia and it's neighbours, and marriage all in one little package. She should be a very well known Australian short story writer of the ilk of Shirley Hazzard.

[Sue Gould · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 An entertaining collection.

[Nadia King · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great selection of Australian shorts. A varied & entertaining selection.