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What Was Left
20 winning and shortlisted stories from the 2016 Retreat West Short Story and Flash Fiction Prizes.
A past that comes back to haunt a woman when she feels she has no future.
A man with no mind of his own living a life of clichés.
A teenage girl band that maybe never was.
A dying millionaire’s bizarre tasks for the family hoping to get his money.
A granddaughter losing the grandfather she loves.
A list of things about Abraham Lincoln that reveal both sadness and ambition for a modern day schoolgirl.
These stories and more make up this anthology from the winning and shortlisted writers in the 2016 Retreat West Short Story Prize and Flash Fiction Prize.
From moving and poignant, to creepy and laugh out loud funny, these stories showcase the talented voices writing short fiction today.
A past that comes back to haunt a woman when she feels she has no future.
A man with no mind of his own living a life of clichés.
A teenage girl band that maybe never was.
A dying millionaire’s bizarre tasks for the family hoping to get his money.
A granddaughter losing the grandfather she loves.
A list of things about Abraham Lincoln that reveal both sadness and ambition for a modern day schoolgirl.
These stories and more make up this anthology from the winning and shortlisted writers in the 2016 Retreat West Short Story Prize and Flash Fiction Prize.
From moving and poignant, to creepy and laugh out loud funny, these stories showcase the talented voices writing short fiction today.
132 pages, Paperback
Published August 8, 2017
3 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
About the author
Amanda Saint
14 books51 followersAmanda Saint's debut novel, As If I Were A River, was longlisted for the Guardian Not the Booker Prize, selected as a NetGalley Top 10 Book of the Month and as Top 20 Book of 2016 by the Book Magnet blog. Her short stories appear in anthologies and literary magazines and have won, or been long and shortlisted for, various prizes. When she's not writing fiction, Amanda works as a freelance journalist writing about environmental sustainability. She also runs her own creative writing business, Retreat West, through which she runs writing retreats, courses and competitions, and an independent press, retreat West Books.
Find out more on her websites:
http://amandasaint.net
http://retreatwest.co.uk
http://retreatwestbooks.com
Find out more on her websites:
http://amandasaint.net
http://retreatwest.co.uk
http://retreatwestbooks.com
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 14, 2017
What a fabulous collection of short stories. I don't read a lot of short stories as sometimes I find that they feel incomplete; just when they start to get going the end appears all too suddenly. This collection has shown me another side to short story writing as clearly if the quality is there, a story can be both compact and complete.
There are some amazing stories in this anthology; I was completely blown away by the first story, which is also the title of the anthology: What Was Left by Joanna Campbell. To start a collection with a story of this calibre had my heart racing in anticipation of what was to come next, as this story wasn't even the winner of the Retreat West competition! The variety is astounding, in contrast to this first poignant tale is the hilarious Honeysuckle Happiness Hospice by Ian Tucker that is simply a collection of email correspondence and the deserving winner that gave me goosebumps, On Crosby Beach by Judith Wilson.
I could go on and write about some of the other stories, and I'm sorry to have only selected a few, but I think this is a collection from which everyone will pick a different favourite. I read the whole collection so fast that I wouldn't be surprised if I see something new and choose new favourites when I re-read it. From heart-achingly poignant to laugh out loud craziness and, with more variety than Heinz, there really is something for everyone in this cracking collection.
I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
There are some amazing stories in this anthology; I was completely blown away by the first story, which is also the title of the anthology: What Was Left by Joanna Campbell. To start a collection with a story of this calibre had my heart racing in anticipation of what was to come next, as this story wasn't even the winner of the Retreat West competition! The variety is astounding, in contrast to this first poignant tale is the hilarious Honeysuckle Happiness Hospice by Ian Tucker that is simply a collection of email correspondence and the deserving winner that gave me goosebumps, On Crosby Beach by Judith Wilson.
I could go on and write about some of the other stories, and I'm sorry to have only selected a few, but I think this is a collection from which everyone will pick a different favourite. I read the whole collection so fast that I wouldn't be surprised if I see something new and choose new favourites when I re-read it. From heart-achingly poignant to laugh out loud craziness and, with more variety than Heinz, there really is something for everyone in this cracking collection.
I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
January 23, 2019
Evocative writing, spare and expansive at the same time. More thoughts and a list of favorite stories here: http://winsomegates.jenevivedesroches...
January 21, 2022
Interesting and entertaining, what more do you want in a book.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews