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After the Carnage
Ten years after the much-acclaimed Swallow the Air, Tara June Winch returns with an extraordinary new collection of stories. A single mother resorts to extreme measures to protect her young son. A Namibian student undertakes a United Nations internship in the hope of a better future. A recently divorced man starts a running group with members of an online forum for recovering addicts. Ranging from New York to Istanbul, from Pakistan to Australia, these unforgettable stories chart the distances in their characters' lives – whether they have grown apart from the ones they love, been displaced from their homeland, or are struggling to reconcile their dreams with reality. A collection of prodigious depth and variety, After the Carnage marks the remarkable evolution of one of our finest young writers.
194 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2016
17 people are currently reading
1160 people want to read
About the author
Tara June Winch
12 books566 followersTara June Winch is an Australian (Wiradjuri) author. Her first novel, Swallow the Air won several literary awards. In 2008, she was mentored by Nobel Prize winner Wole Soyinka as part of the prestigious Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. After The Carnage, her second book was published in 2016 to critical acclaim. Her third, The Yield, was first published in 2019, to commercial and critical success and took out three prizes including Book of the Year at the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, the Miles Franklin Literary Award, the Voss Prize, and the Prime Minister's Literary Award. She resides in France with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
August 26, 2020
4★
“Then after I was initiated and Dad hadn’t come back for three years and I was twelve, Mum said I was all grown up then, said I was a big man and didn’t need her anymore and then she left.”
Australian author Tara June Winch won the 2020 Miles Franklin Literary Award for her novel, The Yield, which I really enjoyed, so I decided I’d like to read more of her work. This is a baker’s dozen (13) of short stories. They vary so much that I felt she may have been trying out some different styles.
The protagonists are of several nationalities, young, old, male, female, single, married, desperate, bored, and/or lost. The locations are as varied as the people.
The quotation is from the first story, The Wager about a son, now a university student, whose wayward mum says she’s settled down with a new family and wants him to come and visit. Winch captures well the awkwardness and the slow deterioration of the mother’s behaviour as she continues to disappoint.
A group of migrants/refugees (we don’t know exactly) in France are students in The Last Class. They are adults learning French, comparing notes on how they’re managing, and then they get the news that funding is being cut and student hours will be severely limited.
A couple of them have lunch at a local Turkish restaurant when one notices a woman sharply yanking the ponytail of a young girl who’s with her. The girl is visibly distressed, crying silently while the woman fools around with her phone. The two friends are so upset that they leave their meals unfinished.
“‘Do you think it’s strange?’ I began evenly. ‘We’ve seen war, people who stop breathing, buildings gone to rubble, and here we cry over a girl’s hair being yanked?’”
They wonder if they could speak French better, might they have said something, and if so, would they have felt better? The author is an indigenous Australian who is married and living in France, so I imagine she would have some sympathy for people making new lives in a foreign culture.
There is such variation in the stories and locations, including a sailing boat caught in a storm in the Pacific, that it’s hard to compare one with the other. I sometimes found the characters not well defined.
I’d read almost half of one story before I realised the main character was a young man. I’d thought it was a young woman! I went back to the beginning to see if I’d missed some clue, but no, I hadn’t. There was no reason for it that I could find, no “gotcha” moment, just a feeling of being startled when he referred to himself as a single man.
I love short stories, and some of these were excellent. I did think it was an uneven collection, but I’m looking forward to reading more of her work.
“Then after I was initiated and Dad hadn’t come back for three years and I was twelve, Mum said I was all grown up then, said I was a big man and didn’t need her anymore and then she left.”
Australian author Tara June Winch won the 2020 Miles Franklin Literary Award for her novel, The Yield, which I really enjoyed, so I decided I’d like to read more of her work. This is a baker’s dozen (13) of short stories. They vary so much that I felt she may have been trying out some different styles.
The protagonists are of several nationalities, young, old, male, female, single, married, desperate, bored, and/or lost. The locations are as varied as the people.
The quotation is from the first story, The Wager about a son, now a university student, whose wayward mum says she’s settled down with a new family and wants him to come and visit. Winch captures well the awkwardness and the slow deterioration of the mother’s behaviour as she continues to disappoint.
A group of migrants/refugees (we don’t know exactly) in France are students in The Last Class. They are adults learning French, comparing notes on how they’re managing, and then they get the news that funding is being cut and student hours will be severely limited.
A couple of them have lunch at a local Turkish restaurant when one notices a woman sharply yanking the ponytail of a young girl who’s with her. The girl is visibly distressed, crying silently while the woman fools around with her phone. The two friends are so upset that they leave their meals unfinished.
“‘Do you think it’s strange?’ I began evenly. ‘We’ve seen war, people who stop breathing, buildings gone to rubble, and here we cry over a girl’s hair being yanked?’”
They wonder if they could speak French better, might they have said something, and if so, would they have felt better? The author is an indigenous Australian who is married and living in France, so I imagine she would have some sympathy for people making new lives in a foreign culture.
There is such variation in the stories and locations, including a sailing boat caught in a storm in the Pacific, that it’s hard to compare one with the other. I sometimes found the characters not well defined.
I’d read almost half of one story before I realised the main character was a young man. I’d thought it was a young woman! I went back to the beginning to see if I’d missed some clue, but no, I hadn’t. There was no reason for it that I could find, no “gotcha” moment, just a feeling of being startled when he referred to himself as a single man.
I love short stories, and some of these were excellent. I did think it was an uneven collection, but I’m looking forward to reading more of her work.
November 14, 2016
Tara June Winch is a wonderful writer, wringing deep pathos out of tiny moments in this collection of stories spanning hugely diverse settings and characters. It's a short book, so you'll finish it in no time, but there are some moments that will stay with you for ages. It's not perfect - there are a couple of stories that felt overdone to me - but it's definitely got me interested in picking up Swallow the Air.
October 3, 2016
Tara June Winch is a phenomenal author. A remarkable series of thought provoking and heartbreaking stories that will ensure readers are far more appreciative of their lives and the hardship that others experience. This one will stay with me for a long time to come.
July 17, 2020
A fabulously diverse collection of short stories by 2020 Miles Franklin winner, Tara June Winch.
All these stories have characters dealing with the messier aspects of life, but are set all around the world in different settings.
Sometimes unsettling but all held my interest and of relatively equal merit so I would have trouble picking favourites.
Can't wait to read more by this author
All these stories have characters dealing with the messier aspects of life, but are set all around the world in different settings.
Sometimes unsettling but all held my interest and of relatively equal merit so I would have trouble picking favourites.
Can't wait to read more by this author
January 10, 2017
After I finished these stories I felt immediately that they were a 4 star collection but also that I needed to read them again to really work out why I thought that. Now I have read most of them a second time and I can point to a few reasons why I would recommend this set of short stories.
Winch is ambitious in her choice of voice, exploring various points of view of people from different countries and cultures. She is able to write convincingly about both men and women, young and old. She is sensitive to those who are marginalised, displaced, traumatised or simply isolated. She tackles serious subjects with a tone that has verve, energy and conviction. Many of her stories have wonderful opening sentences and others have closing sentences that really blow you away. She can write!
I loved Winch's first publication - her novel, Swallow the Air - and I look forward to another novel from her. But in the meantime, these stories have been very satisfying indeed.
Winch is ambitious in her choice of voice, exploring various points of view of people from different countries and cultures. She is able to write convincingly about both men and women, young and old. She is sensitive to those who are marginalised, displaced, traumatised or simply isolated. She tackles serious subjects with a tone that has verve, energy and conviction. Many of her stories have wonderful opening sentences and others have closing sentences that really blow you away. She can write!
I loved Winch's first publication - her novel, Swallow the Air - and I look forward to another novel from her. But in the meantime, these stories have been very satisfying indeed.
January 5, 2020
The writing itself was good, but I couldn't get into the format. The many different stories left me unsatisfied. Just as I was getting a connection to the characters the story would end. Some of them were also hard to follow and a bit vague on plot points making it hard to figure out what was going on. Many used first person narrators which actually increased the disconnection I felt for the character as they all merged into one instead of letting me into the character's head.
I read this author's most recent book last year, the Yield, and loved it, but this one did nothing for me.
I read this author's most recent book last year, the Yield, and loved it, but this one did nothing for me.
March 20, 2018
this collection of stories is amazing. so many distinctly different people, worlds, experiences. all beautifully written.
every one of these stories needed to exist
every one of these stories needed to exist
June 26, 2020
Well written but I wasn’t quite in the headspace for bouncing between often intense or heavy short stories. I’m interested to read one of her full novels. I think I’ll like them.
October 27, 2017
The book could be called the world in 13 stories. The author shows her considerable talent with her stories in many countries (Australia, USA, Pakistan, Turkey, China...), her characters are black, white, Asian, married, divorced, single, gay, working, unemployed or unemployable. Her stories are of today and the challenges faced in daily life. The variety of people, places and topics worked well for me.
August 15, 2020
Loved this collection of short stories. Such diverse stories, characters and settings.
March 24, 2017
This is a powerful collection of short stories, with wide-ranging themes and settings. Some are uncomfortable, even painful, to read, and and I felt many of the stories were connected by a sense of loss. The writing is moving and powerful.
As in most short story collections, some are more successful than others. I was particularly impressed with the opening story, 'Wager', but was also struck by 'After the Carnage, More', 'It's Too Difficult to Explain', and 'Mosquito'.
As in most short story collections, some are more successful than others. I was particularly impressed with the opening story, 'Wager', but was also struck by 'After the Carnage, More', 'It's Too Difficult to Explain', and 'Mosquito'.
September 1, 2018
"The woman could see the man kept staring at some girl. He looked at her as if she were the Turkish delight they’d brought to the party, as if she were the offered plate. The woman thought she might have imagined it. She knew she hadn’t imagined it. She reached out and touched the elbow of the other woman. ‘I’m just going to the bathroom. I’ll be back.’ The other woman squinted her eyes and nodded and smiled, as the music washed over the room. The woman walked past the bathroom entrance and onto the terrace and propped her elbows on the balcony rails, leaning against them, near the whirring of the pig. She looked up at the now dark sky, tinged orange, and then out to the other terrace windows. In one of the large terrace windows a woman was there, her back visible. Then a man appeared, and they were both facing away from the window. The man grabbed the woman’s neck hard, he shook her side to side, and then he did something that seemed strange, and turned and looked out the window. He met the woman’s gaze, from the window to the balcony, and then just stood, looking, with his hand tight on the neck as if from the distance the act was not so violent at all."
I could spend time wondering why Tara June Winch is not Australian literary royalty now*. Or I just enjoy this collection, which builds from good through to outstanding as it progresses. Winch is interested in the emotional turmoil under the surface, the ways emotional crescendos are reached in small moments, after long build-ups. It is not surprising her tapestry is 'political': tackling terrorism, refugees, colonialism, racism, and the impact of intergenerational trauma, but this is not a particularly polemical book. Winch's focus remains on emotional landscapes, never on grand narratives.
At its best, every line punches, Winch is particularly effective at alternating length and complexity of sentence - "The rain began to pour and stampede the street; the noise, she thought, was like a million quaking hearts, a frenzy of drumbeats signaling something else approaching.", or, "Later he would trawl through years of minor internet articles to recall the things that defined him. He did this when he became lonely and his life prematurely quiet." And the consistent quality and revelation is almost intoxicating, I wanted to laugh (Or whoop - is that what whooping is?) for the sheer pleasure of reading her prose. At moments, like the headline quote, she captures a feeling, a sense of deja vu so acutely.
Winch feels like the writer we need now. Someone who digs into our world behind the media cycle to find the humanity in who we are. Her characters do awful things, as well as survive them. Many are overwhelmed by their own constraint or helplessness, but in the midst of this, Winch sees them, gives them agency, recognises that we all live, and choose, and maybe struggle.
And look, really I just want her to write a leetle bit faster. And yes, get a lot more respect.
*So this was nominated for two state literary awards - not nothing - but not a Stella or a MF either. I'd assume it was a short story problem, except both have had short story compilations nominated in the last few years. Maybe it is simply generational. Maybe no-one shares my taste. But it still irritates.
August 25, 2016
Last night as I was idly watching the ABC news, I was struck once again by the contrasts in the worlds we live in. There was a report about some footballers being pensioned off for new blood… a disproportionately long report, I thought, featuring a lot of hand-wringing by the decision-makers and some desolation by fans. Normally I just glaze over during sport reports and read whatever’s on the coffee table while I wait for the weather report, but when one of the people behind this decision used the word ‘horrific’ to describe the emotion of wielding the axe, I took notice. Because in the same news bulletin there was a report about the earthquake in Umbria and further news about the deteriorating situation in South Sudan with a young woman telling us she was raped within eyesight of UN peacekeepers supposed to be providing a safe haven.
Well, of course, the footy guy didn’t know about Umbria when he was interviewed, and possibly not about Sudan either, (though the news editor obviously did) and all things are relative anyway, aren’t they? But still, it is a real pleasure to pick up a book by an Australian author who’s been and seen a bit of the world and knows what the word ‘horrific’ really means.
A Wiradjuri woman, Tara June Winch burst onto the Australian literary scene with the publication of her award-winning first novel Swallow the Air. (See my review). Aged only 20 when she wrote it, she showed that she already knew more about horrific situations than most Australians do, but as the recipient of the international Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Award in 2008-2009, she has been mentored by Nigerian Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka. (I have his memoir Aké: The Years of Childhood on the TBR). This is what he says about her writing:
The quality of her writing, her eye for the miniature of life, fleshes out both place and persona, and ultimately guides the reader into her action. She is gifted.
Short stories are not my thing, but this collection overcame my reservations for the same reason that Family Room by Lily Yulianti Farid did. (See my review). These stories have serious intent. They challenge thinking. They demand attention to the issues raised. Where Farid was wrestling with feminist issues in the context of a corrupt patriarchal society, Winch is dissecting the displacement that disrupts the lives of individuals as well as the wider society.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2016/08/25/a...
Well, of course, the footy guy didn’t know about Umbria when he was interviewed, and possibly not about Sudan either, (though the news editor obviously did) and all things are relative anyway, aren’t they? But still, it is a real pleasure to pick up a book by an Australian author who’s been and seen a bit of the world and knows what the word ‘horrific’ really means.
A Wiradjuri woman, Tara June Winch burst onto the Australian literary scene with the publication of her award-winning first novel Swallow the Air. (See my review). Aged only 20 when she wrote it, she showed that she already knew more about horrific situations than most Australians do, but as the recipient of the international Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Award in 2008-2009, she has been mentored by Nigerian Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka. (I have his memoir Aké: The Years of Childhood on the TBR). This is what he says about her writing:
The quality of her writing, her eye for the miniature of life, fleshes out both place and persona, and ultimately guides the reader into her action. She is gifted.
Short stories are not my thing, but this collection overcame my reservations for the same reason that Family Room by Lily Yulianti Farid did. (See my review). These stories have serious intent. They challenge thinking. They demand attention to the issues raised. Where Farid was wrestling with feminist issues in the context of a corrupt patriarchal society, Winch is dissecting the displacement that disrupts the lives of individuals as well as the wider society.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2016/08/25/a...
December 31, 2016
3.5 207. My last read for the year and I loved how thought-provoking these stories were. Thrilled to read Tara June Winch's follow-up to Swallow the Air.
May 4, 2021
Superb writing. I read one story, put the book down for two months and then read the rest over two days. What a rollercoaster of emotions this book is. It's not a gentle book, it's raw and painful to read but in an exquisite way. Aptly named, there's a lot of suffering in this. Be warned, there's a few deaths.
February 19, 2024
Actual score 4.5 stars.
Short stories are not something I usually gravitate towards but this book came highly recommended.
TJW uses the book to share stories from different countries & cultures & each story is thought provoking. As a result it's a book you feel you can't rush through as each story deserves to be considered.
My favourite story is entitled Easter.
"When families fall apart, traditions that seemed important, those simple guides on how to live, end up disintegrating under the weight of their own ability to be invalidated and become the dates and habits we try hard to bury, though silently we lament their death. I missed what Easter weekend had been as much as I longed to forget it."
Short stories are not something I usually gravitate towards but this book came highly recommended.
TJW uses the book to share stories from different countries & cultures & each story is thought provoking. As a result it's a book you feel you can't rush through as each story deserves to be considered.
My favourite story is entitled Easter.
"When families fall apart, traditions that seemed important, those simple guides on how to live, end up disintegrating under the weight of their own ability to be invalidated and become the dates and habits we try hard to bury, though silently we lament their death. I missed what Easter weekend had been as much as I longed to forget it."
February 2, 2021
A good collection, quite diverse and on the whole sharply observant. I really loved Cloud Busting, which appeared in the 2005 Australian Short Stories.
July 7, 2021
In a way ratings are silly but because I loved the Yield so much, I am just saying this is different. Both are excellent reading by a highly talented author who leaves a scent of justice on each page. There is something to be read, felt and learned in this. It's really five stars. This is highly recommended.
September 30, 2023
“The barman began to speak to me in Cantonese; I ordered in my thickest Australian English. I missed my parents when I came to Asia. I was an amalgam; the union of my voice and face didn’t sit well with people- but if my parents had been here they could have spoken for me in their retained accents.”
I can’t think of any other word to describe this book than, special. It’s energy and force is extremely special. Tara’s writing was so inviting, vivid and real. My favourite story would be the Asian-Australian woman on a trip to Guangzhou, China as part of her job with IDP. This story was realer than real.
After reading Yellowface, I would love to sit down with Tara to map on the stories and people she wrote about onto her life and experiences and to ask her, where do you draw the line with writing on a culture or life you haven’t lived, or does the line not exist?
I can’t think of any other word to describe this book than, special. It’s energy and force is extremely special. Tara’s writing was so inviting, vivid and real. My favourite story would be the Asian-Australian woman on a trip to Guangzhou, China as part of her job with IDP. This story was realer than real.
After reading Yellowface, I would love to sit down with Tara to map on the stories and people she wrote about onto her life and experiences and to ask her, where do you draw the line with writing on a culture or life you haven’t lived, or does the line not exist?
August 17, 2020
"The man grabbed the woman’s neck hard, he shook her side to side, and then he did something that seemed strange, and turned and looked out the window. He met the woman’s gaze, from the window to the balcony, and then just stood, looking, with his hand tight on the neck as if from the distance the act was not so violent at all."
Tara June Winch has crafted a collection of eclectic and unique stories, about characters who are as varied as they are interesting. These stories were like curious little morsels which melted quickly in the mouth but leave you feeling hungry. These otherwise intriguing stories ended in such frustrating ways, as though they were only considered until the close, and their conclusion was an afterthought. This was particularly true for my favorite piece of the collection, 'Baby Island'.
They piqued my interest enough however, that I am on the waiting list for Winch's new novel 'The Yield' at my library.
Tara June Winch has crafted a collection of eclectic and unique stories, about characters who are as varied as they are interesting. These stories were like curious little morsels which melted quickly in the mouth but leave you feeling hungry. These otherwise intriguing stories ended in such frustrating ways, as though they were only considered until the close, and their conclusion was an afterthought. This was particularly true for my favorite piece of the collection, 'Baby Island'.
They piqued my interest enough however, that I am on the waiting list for Winch's new novel 'The Yield' at my library.
May 13, 2020
3.5 stars
This was an enjoyable short story collection that deals with themes of displacement.
*Wager: A young man returns home hoping to see the cycle of abuse and neglect alter.
'I remembered the taste of coins, house keys, zipper ends - sometimes I could lick a brass key and all my childhood would return.'
*The Last Class: French lessons and a knife all add to the initial drama of a new country.
'Selma had showed me a photo on her cell a few weeks later of her hair that she'd done that morning - it was wavy ringlets, beautifully curled and blowed-dried. 'I do it like this every day,' she'd said. 'But then you tie it up in your scarf all day,' I said, noting the obvious. 'But I know how beautiful it is under the scarf...'
*After the Carnage, More: A man finds himself in a hospital bed trying to place together why he is there.
'There are other sorts of violence though. I know those types of violence only in retrospect. I can't quite comprehend what happened today, my mind is awash in everything from before...'
*Happy: Cat sitting exposes further, the fraying edges of a couple's relationship.
'Tomas was not in the mood for fighting; they'd done plenty of it since arriving in the countryside.'
*Failure To Thrive: A young Nigerian man has big plans for New York but is compromised by his generous heart.
'I'd felt a bit like that teacher when we were at the UN - like we were just handing out half fried chickens to random people and not understanding where it should all go, or who needed to share it and who didn't.'
*Baby Island: The yearning of the heart cannot be ignored by travelling for work.
'I was an amalgam; the union of the voice and face didn't sit well with people...'
*Easter: A brother and sister reunite and reminisce in Paris.
'I could feel it, I owned this feeling, I would revisit it, stay with it, I wouldn't deny it.'
*Meat House: Nothing like a honeymoon to illuminate things.
'We only momentarily got caught by the rush of the highway, but we remembered the freedom of it, and I think the impossibility of staying captivated had turned us bitter.'
*It's Too Difficult To Explain: Is success the antidote for brokenness?
'Nothing could take away the feeling that he might yet return to what he was from...'
*Mosquito: A single mother can fully reclaim her son and finally put all the mosquitos to rest.
'I was there. I was there, I am here, and this was our lives; every alternating week. I couldn't breathe properly...'
*Longitude: A women discovers that a party is no cure for a waning relationship.
''You may feel empathetic, but it's more socially acceptable these days just to be apathetic; people want distraction from the overload of imagery. That's it.''
* The Proust Running Group: Narcotics anonymous goes Forest Gump.
'Most days he felt as if his body were a house. An intricate doll's house, with stairs rising and descending, and fitted with windows that neither opened or closed.'
* A Late Netting: A young man takes a job sailing to New Zealand with a couple.
''Luckily the one's in the middle will suffocate fast.''
This was an enjoyable short story collection that deals with themes of displacement.
*Wager: A young man returns home hoping to see the cycle of abuse and neglect alter.
'I remembered the taste of coins, house keys, zipper ends - sometimes I could lick a brass key and all my childhood would return.'
*The Last Class: French lessons and a knife all add to the initial drama of a new country.
'Selma had showed me a photo on her cell a few weeks later of her hair that she'd done that morning - it was wavy ringlets, beautifully curled and blowed-dried. 'I do it like this every day,' she'd said. 'But then you tie it up in your scarf all day,' I said, noting the obvious. 'But I know how beautiful it is under the scarf...'
*After the Carnage, More: A man finds himself in a hospital bed trying to place together why he is there.
'There are other sorts of violence though. I know those types of violence only in retrospect. I can't quite comprehend what happened today, my mind is awash in everything from before...'
*Happy: Cat sitting exposes further, the fraying edges of a couple's relationship.
'Tomas was not in the mood for fighting; they'd done plenty of it since arriving in the countryside.'
*Failure To Thrive: A young Nigerian man has big plans for New York but is compromised by his generous heart.
'I'd felt a bit like that teacher when we were at the UN - like we were just handing out half fried chickens to random people and not understanding where it should all go, or who needed to share it and who didn't.'
*Baby Island: The yearning of the heart cannot be ignored by travelling for work.
'I was an amalgam; the union of the voice and face didn't sit well with people...'
*Easter: A brother and sister reunite and reminisce in Paris.
'I could feel it, I owned this feeling, I would revisit it, stay with it, I wouldn't deny it.'
*Meat House: Nothing like a honeymoon to illuminate things.
'We only momentarily got caught by the rush of the highway, but we remembered the freedom of it, and I think the impossibility of staying captivated had turned us bitter.'
*It's Too Difficult To Explain: Is success the antidote for brokenness?
'Nothing could take away the feeling that he might yet return to what he was from...'
*Mosquito: A single mother can fully reclaim her son and finally put all the mosquitos to rest.
'I was there. I was there, I am here, and this was our lives; every alternating week. I couldn't breathe properly...'
*Longitude: A women discovers that a party is no cure for a waning relationship.
''You may feel empathetic, but it's more socially acceptable these days just to be apathetic; people want distraction from the overload of imagery. That's it.''
* The Proust Running Group: Narcotics anonymous goes Forest Gump.
'Most days he felt as if his body were a house. An intricate doll's house, with stairs rising and descending, and fitted with windows that neither opened or closed.'
* A Late Netting: A young man takes a job sailing to New Zealand with a couple.
''Luckily the one's in the middle will suffocate fast.''
April 29, 2022
I like Tara June Winch’s writing. And some of the stories in this book have lingered with me since I shut this book. Some of the characters remain in my consciousness and left me wondering about them, their motives and their past/present/future (yes, I’m aware they’re fictional characters!). This is usually a sign of a successful piece of writing to me, something that stays with me long after reading it. (I often think of Capote’s ‘Children on their Birthdays,’ a story I read some 18 years ago, yet it still remains a part of me. Or Marguerite Duras’ ‘The Lovers.’)
This collection, though, was hit and miss and at times felt a bit juvenile. I don’t mean this unkindly, but it felt a bit like a collection of stories from the creative writing classes I’d attended at University. Some were great, some missed the mark for me. ‘After the Carnage’ covers a lot of territory that sometimes feels chosen for its traumatic shock value, rather than because there is a good story there, waiting to be shared. I love books that explore the underbelly of human life, the challenges and consequences of our collective and individual experiences, our humanity as well as our shadow. All that resonates. But this didn’t quite get there for me. That said, it was a short and not unpleasant read and I would recommend it if you are a fan of the writer.
This collection, though, was hit and miss and at times felt a bit juvenile. I don’t mean this unkindly, but it felt a bit like a collection of stories from the creative writing classes I’d attended at University. Some were great, some missed the mark for me. ‘After the Carnage’ covers a lot of territory that sometimes feels chosen for its traumatic shock value, rather than because there is a good story there, waiting to be shared. I love books that explore the underbelly of human life, the challenges and consequences of our collective and individual experiences, our humanity as well as our shadow. All that resonates. But this didn’t quite get there for me. That said, it was a short and not unpleasant read and I would recommend it if you are a fan of the writer.
January 1, 2023
This is a collection of short stories covering a vast range of protagonists that are of varying nationalities and set in different countries. They are both male and female, old and young and don’t have a lot tying them together as a collection other than perhaps being universally everyday occurrences amongst people that are experiencing some kind of hardship in their life.
As with all short story collections that I have read, there are some stand outs and others that are less compelling. I particularly enjoyed the first story “Wager” which was a compelling story to begin the collection with. “Baby Island” was another stand out for me.
I very much enjoy the author’s writing style overall and find that the majority of the stories are quite adept at hooking the reader in quickly, which is what I find I need in a short story, as I will admit I don’t love them as much as full length novels. That said, this was a solid collection that posed some uncomfortable moments and thought provoking ideas. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.
As with all short story collections that I have read, there are some stand outs and others that are less compelling. I particularly enjoyed the first story “Wager” which was a compelling story to begin the collection with. “Baby Island” was another stand out for me.
I very much enjoy the author’s writing style overall and find that the majority of the stories are quite adept at hooking the reader in quickly, which is what I find I need in a short story, as I will admit I don’t love them as much as full length novels. That said, this was a solid collection that posed some uncomfortable moments and thought provoking ideas. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.
October 16, 2018
The first 2 stories in this collection are brilliant, especially the second one about migrant women to Paris. The ending made my breath catch & I looked forward to reading the next story. Which was not up to the same standard, nor were any of the others. They read like writing exercises, taking on another voice & playing with style. It is more like the work of a student than an accomplished writer, which she is judging by the first 2 stories. The difference in the first 2 is one of authenticity, I believed she knows her subjects in the first stories but the rest are exercises. This opinion is influenced by what I know about her, that she is a young Australian Aboriginal woman living in Paris & seeing as how the first story was about a young Aboriginal man returning home & the second about migrant women learning to speak French the reader benefits from her insights but when she is writing from the perspective from an older man involved in a terror attack, the voice becomes less authentic.
The second book is as difficult as the second album & i feel that perhaps she was pushed to publish before she was ready, I'm sorry if the author holds each of these stories dear to her heart. I will read more of this author's work, she definitely has more to say, just a bit more polish is needed.
So it turns out this book came 7 years after her novel & everyone else loved it. I still stand by my opinion, just not the part about being pressured to publish. Maybe she is surrounded by too many sycophants.
EDIT: One story I can't get out of my mind is Happy.
The second book is as difficult as the second album & i feel that perhaps she was pushed to publish before she was ready, I'm sorry if the author holds each of these stories dear to her heart. I will read more of this author's work, she definitely has more to say, just a bit more polish is needed.
So it turns out this book came 7 years after her novel & everyone else loved it. I still stand by my opinion, just not the part about being pressured to publish. Maybe she is surrounded by too many sycophants.
EDIT: One story I can't get out of my mind is Happy.
September 25, 2019
In short, yeah..nah. Not my cup of tea. It's a slim volume (180 pages) and is a collection of 13 overtly unrelated short stories. That's a bit over 13 pages a story, which is sufficient in each case for the author to demonstrate their capacity and potential, but not enough to really hook me in. Each chapter would make a fine first chapter in a longer work, but when they are read together in one or two sittings, the rhythm and structure of these stories are similar enough that an inevitability if not predictability sets in which left me reading less and less closely as I approached the end of the book. Certainly well written, but I'm not a fan of a whole dinner consisting of hors d'oeuvres. From the number of awards the book has won, apparently plenty of people are fans.
August 31, 2017
A book of short stories where the personal is political, and thanks to the author also quite poetic. Each story packs a punch and they cover a very broad canvas of characters and geographies. It was like being tossed out of bed suddenly to start the next story in a different country, with almost polar opposite characters before me. So I simply gave myself a palette cleansing time out between each course, and ended up finding this book quite delicious.
October 26, 2017
Australian (Wiradjuri) writer Tara June Winch's follow up to 2006's Swallow the Air - After The Carnage - is a collection of short stories about people who are striving for something they might never reach. Whether a new country, an old love, or their former selves. (In typical short story fashion, you usually don't find out if they reach that thing or not.)
January 9, 2018
I gobbled up this collection of treats quite quickly. It is a fast read, composed of short stories that cover a wide range of very human situations and people. Most of them have a darker thread through them.
Content warnings for .
Content warnings for .
October 6, 2020
This was a really mixed bag. There were some stories that were truly haunting and really stuck with me, and others that I was left feeling as if I didn't really 'get'. Short story collections are always hit and miss, and alas, this one falls into the forgettable category for me. Such a shame as I've really enjoyed Winch's writing style before.
January 19, 2021
Short stories about normal people in normal everyday situations...with a twist, or a dark thread. The characters are struggling with identity, displacement, fitting in, abuse, loneliness.
I love Tara June Winch’s writing. It is introspective, haunting, refined and easy to read.
I have devoured her 3 books and am impatiently waiting for what she produces next.
I love Tara June Winch’s writing. It is introspective, haunting, refined and easy to read.
I have devoured her 3 books and am impatiently waiting for what she produces next.
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