Taking Pictures

by Anne Enright

The stories in Taking Pictures are snapshots of the body in trouble: in denial, in extremis, in love. Mapping the messy connections between people - and their failures to connect - the characters are captured in the grainy texture of real life: freshly palpable, sensuous and deeply flawed.

From Dublin to Venice, from an American college dorm to a holiday caravan in France, these are stories about women stirred, bothered, or fascinated by men they cannot understand, or understand too well. Enright's women are haunted by children, and by the ghosts of the lives they might have led - lit by new flames, old flames, and flames that are guttering out.A woman's one night stand is illuminated by dreams of a young boy on a cliff road, another's is thwarted by an swarm of somnolent bees. A pregnant woman is stuck in a slow lift with a tactile American stranger, a naked mother changes a nappy in a hotel bedroom, and waits for her husband to come back from the bar. These are sharp, vivid stories of loss and yearning, of surrender to responsibilities or to unexpected delight; all share the unsettling, dislocated reality, the subversive wit and awkward tenderness that have marked Anne Enright as one of our most thrillingly gifted writers.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Irish Literature, Contemporary, Novels

256 pages, Hardcover

First published March 6, 2008

About the author

Anne Enright was born in Dublin, where she now lives and works. She has published three volumes of stories, one book of nonfiction, and five novels. In 2015, she was named the inaugural Laureate for Irish Fiction. Her novel The Gathering won the Man Booker Prize, and The Forgotten Waltz won the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.

Reviews

[Oceana2602]

I loved it. Definitely one of the better books I read this year.

"Taking Pictures" is a collection of short-stories. Short-stories fit very well with my interrupted and random reading schedule. These ones fit even better, because they really are short (10-15 pages), so I could actually read one or two in one session! Yay me! (you wouldn't believe how much fun a novel is NOt when you have to pause after every thrid page).

Enright is obviously a master of the short-story genre, and I admire that. I always loved short-stories, so much more difficult to say what you have to say in a few words than to write a whole novel (let's face it, most novels could easily be half their size and still contain everything important). In the years (OMG almost a decade?) I've been involved in fandom, i've grown to love short-stories even more, and so i let myself be tempted by this book when i was in a book store (something I rarely allow myself to enter).


The stories in "Taking Pictures" all deal with woman and relationships, opne way or another. It's not always obvious, in fact, sometimes the very strong narrator-POV make you feel as if you've missed something, but that's the point, isn't it?

All stories touched me, in different ways, but the one that stood out most was "The Girl that Died". So much pain between the lines, perfect for me, seeing as I find the idea of an affair wildly romantic (in theory), and am a sucker for angst.


I highly recommend this book to everyone who likes short-stories and isn't afraid of fiction that sometimes only comes to life at the second look.

[Darlene Foster]

A superb collection of short stories by a phenomenal writer. The stories reflect the lives, thoughts and feelings of very different women. These poignant stories are as unique and quirky as the characters in them. My favourite is What You Want, a story about the futility of dreams and wishes. Many of these stories revolve around relationships and how fragile and capricious they can be. These are slice-of-life stories that ring true.

[Vrsoffer]

I bought this book of short stories at the airport hoping it would be a good plane read. She has a bit of a potty mouth & rather then it working in seamlessly I am finiding it jarring. Don't know if I'll get through it but I will give it a few more stories.

The short story "Taking pictures" was the best of the bunch. She's a good writer so I may look into some of her other work.

[Trish]

What an amazing writer. I don’t normally enjoy short stories but these are incredibly insightful peeks into someone else’s life.

[Steven Norrie]

An agreeable mixture of short stories, all written from a female perspective, and with such a beautiful writing style that, even when they do they appear to be about anything in particular, they are powerful and hugely enjoyable. Anne Enright has a mastery of prose which is quite remarkable, and her voice carries through to the page with it's unique Irish manner, finding beauty in the most mundane everyday things, and always tinged with a bittersweet melancholy. A book to savour, as it's charm and magic lies in the expertly crafted sentences.

[Rick]

Bought at a thriftshop, seduced by the cover and the referral to the Man Booker Prize, and initially I was a bit disappointed: so bitter, so sad, so 'abandon all hope'... But also so beautifully written, and as I advanced I discovered hope between the lines. It is the first book by Enright i read, but it tastes like more. And even though it is not exactly joyful, I spend a beautiful sunday reading it, enjoying the prose and the mastership of the author. Compassion is a virtue too. And it does make you wonder what happens behind the doors in your street...

[Lisa]

I think if I'd taken a break between reading each story, I would be able to appreciate each individual story better. However, I plowed through it on a holiday and the repeated bleakness, often revolving around unsatisfied women, began to get tiring - but every so often there was a more uplifting story that made the read worthwhile.

[tee]

I loved this, I particularly loved the first two stories. I've never read Enright's work before but this is exactly the kind of book I enjoy reading. If I wrote a book of short stories, I'd want them to be like these.

[Joan]

Each of these short stories was a little masterpiece that allowed you a glimpse into an incident in a woman's life that reflected somehow her whole life and the many disappointments she may have had. An attempt to map the messy connections between people which at times was esquisitely observed - neighbours who had been secretly despised for 30 years, a woman's reflections on why she tolerated her unfaithful husband's wanderings and the experience of being a mother and the sheer drudgery that is often involved. Very well written and not a boring one in the book - I'm definately an Anne Enright fan now.

[Veronica Borri]

There are a few core components that I look for in a book; if they have a compelling story and decent character development, I'm pretty easy to please. But short stories struggle to do this - as soon as I start getting into it, I'm already out. Consequently, I rarely enjoy them as much as I would like. But the writing in this, the pure unadulterated craft in it, was beautiful enough to carry the book.

[Sam]

Anne Enright can seem harsh because she writes without any sentimentality, a characteristic I like about her fiction. This is short stories - even better, I always love the shorter format, it really forces and author to their point.

[Erexd'N]

It was good full of impression but it was boring from time to time

[Caitlin Smith]

Astonishing.

[Bryan Wade]

Found the stories well written and interesting to a point, but sadly no smile or wow factor at the end of them.

[isabella guerrero]

cute :P just glad I stuck with it😂 some mini stories were pretty sad tho not complaining I love that

[David Gagen]

Superb collection of short stories. Brilliant.

[Catarina]

3.5

[Nicholas Cavenagh]

The short stories in this book are so rich with emotion and imagery, I find I need a break between each of them so it is taking a while for me to read, which I don't mind at all. Enright is a literary astronaut - she uses the very limits of language to describe emotional states, mainly melancholic and painful ones, that almost no-one else could articulate.

[Hazel McHaffie]

I bought this book for two reasons. One, I heard Anne Enright read from it at the Edinburgh International Book Festival last summer' and her Irish accent brought the story alive. Two, because she's a Mann-Booker Prizewinner (2007) and has had good reviews. It really wasn't to my taste although I recognise the cleverness and at times like the rhythm of her writing.

[Penni Russon]

This book made me remember what I love most about short stories, that tantalising promise to a reader, the elegant set up, like an elaborate row of dominoes, the breathless beauty in the knock down. Anne Enright is a master of the form, and now I am reading The Gathering, it seems she's pretty darn good at writing novels as well.

[Hubert]

A poignant, sad set of very short fictions by the esteemed Anne Enright. The narrators are oftentimes women, reminiscing on lives past, lives lost, lives that could have been. Enright writes with an economy of prose that makes you sometimes to a double-take to unravel layers of multiple meanings. Beautifully written.

[Initially NO]

Short stories that don't really connect as a book. Flashes of brilliance and a lot of churning. I am not a fan of collections of short stories. I often mistake a collection of short stories for a novel and wonder why the book loses solid ground and becomes a crowded pub full of noise, with some dissonant band playing, where no one can hear anyone actually speak, yet everyone tries to be heard.

[Donna]

Obtuse is the only way to describe this collection of short stories. I may have to read it again and pay more attention next time around to discover what was meant when the stories seemingly end abruptly.

[Sarah Laing]

beautiful examination of relationships, all in this very droll tone.Such great dialogue, so concise

[Millie]

Why aren't books or stories ABOUT anything anymore? If this is post postmodernism, you can keep it.

[Fire-fish]

Managed to read only one story from this book and tried to read two others however they were too mean and bitter and full of disdainful attitude to every character to keep going.

[Claire S]

Also to get..

[Calamity Jam]

Haunting short stories that investigate issues of the body and mind.

[Melissa]

Best book of short stories I've read in a long time.

[Paulinlong]

Clever but depressing