Opportunity

by Charlotte Grimshaw

"You could look back after a long time and ask, who wanted what from whom?" A man confronts death after an operation, a devout Christian encounters a man who hurt her long ago, a secretary uncovers her boss's secret shame. And in a house in Auckland an elderly woman is writing the last book of her life, one which, she says, contains all of her crimes. How are the characters connected and who is writing the stories? Each of these astute stories is an inspection of motive, rich in vivid insight into a diverse range of lives. Together, they form a unified whole. Opportunity is a book about storytelling, about generosity and opportunism; above all it is a celebration of the subtleties of human impulses, of what Katherine Mansfield called the LIFE of life.

Genres: Short Stories

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Charlotte Grimshaw is the author of a number of critically acclaimed novels and outstanding collections of short stories. She has been a double finalist and prize winner in the Sunday Star-Times short story competition, and in 2006 she won the BNZ Katherine Mansfield Award. In 2007 she won a Book Council Six Pack prize. Her story collection Opportunity was shortlisted for the 2007 Frank O'Connor International Prize, and in 2008 Opportunity won New Zealand's premier Montana Award for Fiction or Poetry. She was also the 2008 Montana Book Reviewer of the Year. Her story collection Singularity was shortlisted for the 2009 Frank O'Connor International Prize and the South East Asia and Pacific section of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize. Grimshaw's fourth novel, The Night Book was shortlisted for the 2011 NZ Post Award. She writes a monthly column in Metro magazine, for which she won a 2009 Qantas Media Award.

Reviews

[Lisa]

Woeful. Am mystified as to what others see in it. It's a prize winning book, but to me it's a case of the emperor's new clothes... See
http://anzlitlovers.wordpress.com/200...

I don't rate books I don't finish.

[Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great! Loved it!

[Stephkay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interwoven short stories with lots of local color. At only a few passages did I feel really compelled to see what happened next, which means I spent most of the read waiting for it to speed up. I've already read a similar book from Grimshaw (Singularity) which had me feeling the same way. Even a number of the characters from that book turn up here. This is the way she tells a story, take it or leave it.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these inter-linked short stories by award-winning New Zealand author Charlotte Grimshaw. I felt like I had encountered types with some elements of her characters in real life. Her very accurate descriptions of my home patch gave me a truly cinematic reading experience (often I am reading fiction set in unfamiliar places). Write about what you know works very well for Grimshaw. Very astute observing of people and places. The sense of fiction almost being reality reminds me of the New Zealand artist Sir Peter Siddell - his paintings look very realistic, everything is familiar, but the whole is a fiction - truly intriguing, which sums up Opportunity.

[Linda Forbes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am very intrigued by Charlotte Grimshaw's writing - these are the short stories that won the Montana Book Award last week. In each story there are characters that are connected with other characters from a different story. Apparently her next book of short stories will also contain some of the same characters, although I must say they are not all particularly likeable people. Senior secondary students could also read this book.

[Alumine Andrew · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not too sure about this one. It's a collection of short stories from a New Zealand author. There is plenty of local flavour in the stories but I'm not sure that's enough.
They are engaging enough but I feel frustrated that they are only short glimpses of the characters. I keep comparing it in my mind to Tim Winton's book of short stories, The Turning, which somehow is a more satisfying read.
I've managed to read two other books in between trying to finish this one off, not a good sign.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not usually big on short stories, but I enjoyed this collection. I love Grimshaw's style, and while I prefer her novels, I will soon be starting her other short story collection (Singularity), which I understand is somehow tied to this one (some recurring characters?).

[Camille · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another brilliant collection of occasionally connected short stories - I only wish I'd read this before Singularity (which follows on).

[The Twins · Rating 4 out of 5]

fast moving, great little stories that are all intwined somehow - fantastic Kiwi author

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book set in NZ,. Still reading but am enjoying the intermix of characters and perspectives

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

a nice kiwi book with some insightful moments.

[Libby · Rating 2 out of 5]

New Zealand author--This book is a series of loosely interwoven short stories.