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Yes Yes More More
Two schoolgirls in Bolton take acid just before their English class. A film journalist shares tea and a KitKat with Marcel Proust, more or less, during a long train journey. An afterparty turns into a crime scene. Colleagues, maybe in love, have lunch and don't quite talk about their relationship. A woman flees to New Orleans and finds unexpected treasures there.
In her electric debut, Anna Wood skips through the decades of a woman's life, meeting friends, lovers, shapeshifters and doppelgangers along the way. Pleasures and regrets pile up, time becomes non-linear, characters stumble and shimmy through moments of rupture, horror and joy.
Written with warmth, wit and swagger, these stories glide from acutely observed comic dialogue to giddy surrealism and quiet heartbreak, and always there is music – pop songs as tiny portals into another world. Yes Yes More More is packed with friendship, memory, sexuality, love, and the radical possibilities of pleasure.
In her electric debut, Anna Wood skips through the decades of a woman's life, meeting friends, lovers, shapeshifters and doppelgangers along the way. Pleasures and regrets pile up, time becomes non-linear, characters stumble and shimmy through moments of rupture, horror and joy.
Written with warmth, wit and swagger, these stories glide from acutely observed comic dialogue to giddy surrealism and quiet heartbreak, and always there is music – pop songs as tiny portals into another world. Yes Yes More More is packed with friendship, memory, sexuality, love, and the radical possibilities of pleasure.
194 pages, Paperback
First published May 6, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
December 9, 2022
A series of short stories – fifteen of them – most only a few pages long and one simply a single paragraph. In fact they’re not really even stories, more moments in the lives of the featured characters. It seems that it’s mainly young women having fun: a night out, on holiday, drinking, taking drugs and having sex. But there are also other elements of life here such as a job interview and work too. So is this just a series of random snapshots taken from a jumble of lives? At first I thought this was exactly what it was, but then I noticed that some common names were cropping up and I took a second look.
Annie features quite a lot from the start and some of her friends are sprinkled throughout the pieces too: Stella, Claire and Janey. I leafed back through the pages again and began to piece it together and yes, it was making more sense to me now – there is a flow, a narrative running through the various segments. It’s like one of those old Viewmaster toys I had as a child that threw up images that titillated and sometimes scared me - I couldn’t fully comprehend what I was seeing but it was definitely interesting.
The writing is really strong throughout with the style and perspective constantly changing. As always with such books, some sections grabbed me more than others but (on second reading at least) I could see that each grew the overall picture. Is this a just a clever way of linking together a group of otherwise random vignettes or is it something bigger and better? I’m tempted to say it’s the latter, and I’m even thinking about commencing a third reading as I’m sure there are links and clues I’ve missed along the way which might further skew how I view this intriguing collection.
My thanks to The Indigo Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Annie features quite a lot from the start and some of her friends are sprinkled throughout the pieces too: Stella, Claire and Janey. I leafed back through the pages again and began to piece it together and yes, it was making more sense to me now – there is a flow, a narrative running through the various segments. It’s like one of those old Viewmaster toys I had as a child that threw up images that titillated and sometimes scared me - I couldn’t fully comprehend what I was seeing but it was definitely interesting.
The writing is really strong throughout with the style and perspective constantly changing. As always with such books, some sections grabbed me more than others but (on second reading at least) I could see that each grew the overall picture. Is this a just a clever way of linking together a group of otherwise random vignettes or is it something bigger and better? I’m tempted to say it’s the latter, and I’m even thinking about commencing a third reading as I’m sure there are links and clues I’ve missed along the way which might further skew how I view this intriguing collection.
My thanks to The Indigo Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
November 3, 2021
Anna Wood's debut book features “When Can You Start?” which won a Galley Beggar Press short story prize. Wood’s pieces are firmly rooted in slice-of-life territory, featuring a cast of recurring characters, at the centre of which is Annie. Wood follows Annie and her friends from their teens through to middle-age, chronicling acid trips, boozy pub nights, grubby and not-so-grubby sexual encounters, and a growing feeling of malaise and uncertainty about how to negotiate the transition from youth to adulthood. Their settings range from Bolton in the 90s to familiar London landmarks. These read as if they may be semi-autobiographical: Anna Wood, whose online profile’s fairly minimal, seems to share key features of the fictional Annie.
I often appreciated the mix of the mundane and the fanciful that surfaces in some of these, but a fair number didn’t really seem to take off. It might be because they seem too grounded in reality, they have a halting, almost banal quality at times, or maybe it's that there's no real impression of a singular style or voice - although there were passages that stood out. I thought the most successful were probably the ones set purely in the moment, like “Wild Nights” when a chance meeting with a DJ leads to a weekend of unexpected intimacy, it had echoes of Gwendoline Riley’s early work although not as tight or as disciplined. But I also felt that Wood wasn’t entirely confident about what she’s trying to do here, she faithfully reproduces scenes from a certain kind of London lifestyle, music, food, bars and clubs as if she wants to chronicle something fleeting but there’s no clear sense of what underlying argument’s being communicated or what impact they’re supposed to have on the reader. Still it’s a very accessible collection, I read it through from cover to cover without much hesitation, but I think I wanted to like these far more than I actually did. It's available from small publisher The Indigo Press.
Rating: 2.5
I often appreciated the mix of the mundane and the fanciful that surfaces in some of these, but a fair number didn’t really seem to take off. It might be because they seem too grounded in reality, they have a halting, almost banal quality at times, or maybe it's that there's no real impression of a singular style or voice - although there were passages that stood out. I thought the most successful were probably the ones set purely in the moment, like “Wild Nights” when a chance meeting with a DJ leads to a weekend of unexpected intimacy, it had echoes of Gwendoline Riley’s early work although not as tight or as disciplined. But I also felt that Wood wasn’t entirely confident about what she’s trying to do here, she faithfully reproduces scenes from a certain kind of London lifestyle, music, food, bars and clubs as if she wants to chronicle something fleeting but there’s no clear sense of what underlying argument’s being communicated or what impact they’re supposed to have on the reader. Still it’s a very accessible collection, I read it through from cover to cover without much hesitation, but I think I wanted to like these far more than I actually did. It's available from small publisher The Indigo Press.
Rating: 2.5
January 28, 2021
There are not many books that make me feel like I am a better writer simply by virtue of having read them, but Yes Yes More More is one of those books - simply because after reading it, in all aspects, I feel I must try harder.
Anna Wood's snapshots of life are filled with scent and the type of small detail that make them feel alive. There is no pretence at being a glamorous heroine, nor claim that life makes sense, that our choices are always good, or that things have a start, beginning and an end. I've never read a book that felt more real.
If you're looking for something refreshing, sparky and filled with humour, poignancy and a celebration of what it means to be live, this fantastic collection will press your buttons.
Anna Wood's snapshots of life are filled with scent and the type of small detail that make them feel alive. There is no pretence at being a glamorous heroine, nor claim that life makes sense, that our choices are always good, or that things have a start, beginning and an end. I've never read a book that felt more real.
If you're looking for something refreshing, sparky and filled with humour, poignancy and a celebration of what it means to be live, this fantastic collection will press your buttons.
May 7, 2021
I loved these short stories, exploring love and sex and being wild and travelling. The book is brilliant and so wonderfully observed. I now really want to fly off to New Orleans on a whim. It’s a beautiful book and is a perfect birthday present for a friend.
November 29, 2023
A collection of fifteen short stories. Published 2022 by Vertigo Press. Raw and full of vitality, poignant and nostalgic. Such a brilliant collection.
Two school girls embrace the splendour of summery youth as they jaunt around Bolton town centre on acid in the early 90's. A couple of friends marvel at the eerie remoteness of a log cabin in the woods. A job interview inverts reality. Grief is captured flawlessly as a bereaving mother and girl meet up decades after a tragic death. A girl shares a coffee and a kitkat with Marcel Proust on a train.
Wood writes with brevity, there's a liveliness to every story - a freshness that's engrossing. Highly recommend.
Two school girls embrace the splendour of summery youth as they jaunt around Bolton town centre on acid in the early 90's. A couple of friends marvel at the eerie remoteness of a log cabin in the woods. A job interview inverts reality. Grief is captured flawlessly as a bereaving mother and girl meet up decades after a tragic death. A girl shares a coffee and a kitkat with Marcel Proust on a train.
Wood writes with brevity, there's a liveliness to every story - a freshness that's engrossing. Highly recommend.
June 8, 2021
Absolutely beautiful little morsels of stories. A fantastic writer. I enjoyed this so much!
February 18, 2022
A few things link the stories in this collection – reappearing characters, music, friendship, humour, joy and sadness. The stories are of lifes many moments that collectively add up to the whole. I wish I could remember how I knew to seek out this collection. I love the way Wood handles time in this collection.
June 8, 2021
Having recently read one of Anna Wood’s stories in the excellent anthology Outsiders, I was very keen to read more of her work. What struck me about that story was how well Wood captures the utter joy of being young and with a bunch of friends with a whole night of fun and hedonism stretching out ahead of you, glittering with possibilities. I was delighted to find that same theme repeated in this stunning collection. I honestly don’t think I’ve read anyone who writes ‘nights out’ as well as Wood, who manages to encapsulate that youthful feeling of immortality and openness and excess, without loading on judgement or warnings. It made me so nostalgic for mad nights, for that feeling of staying up till dawn and still not wanting the party to end, of connections suddenly and intimately forged in the early hours. It wasn’t all good, and I actually wouldn’t go back to my late teens/early twenties if you paid me, but my God, there were some fun times, and I wouldn’t change it.
Amongst the beautiful excess, there are other, differently-hued moments. We dip in and out of the life of Annie, sometimes entering her first person point of view, sometimes held at more of a distance by the third person. Often she seems to be a at a crossroads, deciding on whether to stay on the conventional path of a stylish London career, or whether to jack it all in and head off into the sunset. We find her in France, sipping wine outside a café; in New Orleans, having a delicious fling with a beautiful young man; in Iceland, attending a friend’s wedding. This collection comes at you in flashes, bright and brilliant, sometimes darkly hilarious, sometimes so beautiful and poignant it brings a lump to the throat. The writing is dazzling – so sharp and fresh and vivid – every sentence zings with truth.
This is one of the most original and piercing short story collections I have read for a long time, and I am excited to read whatever comes next from this phenomenally talented writer. I highly recommend you get your hands on Yes Yes More More immediately.
Amongst the beautiful excess, there are other, differently-hued moments. We dip in and out of the life of Annie, sometimes entering her first person point of view, sometimes held at more of a distance by the third person. Often she seems to be a at a crossroads, deciding on whether to stay on the conventional path of a stylish London career, or whether to jack it all in and head off into the sunset. We find her in France, sipping wine outside a café; in New Orleans, having a delicious fling with a beautiful young man; in Iceland, attending a friend’s wedding. This collection comes at you in flashes, bright and brilliant, sometimes darkly hilarious, sometimes so beautiful and poignant it brings a lump to the throat. The writing is dazzling – so sharp and fresh and vivid – every sentence zings with truth.
This is one of the most original and piercing short story collections I have read for a long time, and I am excited to read whatever comes next from this phenomenally talented writer. I highly recommend you get your hands on Yes Yes More More immediately.
November 6, 2021
I don’t really know what I thought of this. Some of the stories were dead funny and enjoyable to read, but others were pretty dull or made no sense. I think the mistake I made was reading it back to front and perhaps I’d have enjoyed it more if I’d just dipped in and out to random extracts? The writing style is lovely and I appreciated all the music references, but I don’t think it’s one id write home about.
December 29, 2022
Oooohhohh i loved this! I flipped back and repeated a lot of this and I'll do the same again before I return it. Oddly heartwarming and gut wrenching. Presenting humans as their broken, beautiful, awkward selves.
Looking forward to more Anna Wood.
Looking forward to more Anna Wood.
February 16, 2021
Very much enjoyed this book-totally craving a night out or a holiday or even just a chat with a stranger, really transported me to the scenes and raced through it because of that.
September 15, 2024
Absolutely brilliant. Woods barely puts a syllable wrong, let alone a word. A perfectly twisting, exciting, enchanting series of short stories that takes you from the afternoon streets of Bolton to the late night humidity of New Orleans. What a triumph. I wanted it to just keep going and going.
August 21, 2022
A quick afternoon read, there were some stories that I liked more than others (which you do), some really solid moments of writing here.
May 10, 2023
yes yes more more!!!!!!!
August 16, 2021
Notwithstanding the rest of the year, best book of 2021
December 5, 2022
some of the short stories were fun reads, but for the most part it felt like the author had thought of all these individual scenes of things that would happen in full stories, written them down, then instead of creating full stories just decided to stick them altogether into one book. for me most were lacking essential characteristics of short stories so i never really cared for the characters or what was happening
April 16, 2021
Yes Yes More More is Anna Wood’s debut short story collection filled with love, heartbreak, identity and womanhood. This collection is fresh, witty and, at times, gut-punching. From Bolton to Iceland to New Orleans, we follow women at various stages of their lives and the feelings they experience.
The anchor of this collection is music and its presence was something I really appreciated. Whether that be the protagonist being involved in the music industry or a song plays in the background, music acts as a portal to memories and grants access certain emotions. I adored music being a consistent character throughout the collection. Wood captures space and place very well and how music is a key that unlocks the memories of these spaces.
Like any short story collection, I preferred some stories more than others. I really enjoyed Rise Up Singing, A Shania Story and Half a Point for a Good Guess. Parts of Sex in New Orleans reminded me of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening. I am unsure if the mirroring is intentional but the nod to Chopin was very clever and links to the collection’s overarching theme of womanhood and identity.
Overall, I really enjoyed this collection. At times, I was left wanting more from the stories but I take that as a positive. This debut is intimate and modern and I am interested to see more of Wood’s writing in the future.
The anchor of this collection is music and its presence was something I really appreciated. Whether that be the protagonist being involved in the music industry or a song plays in the background, music acts as a portal to memories and grants access certain emotions. I adored music being a consistent character throughout the collection. Wood captures space and place very well and how music is a key that unlocks the memories of these spaces.
Like any short story collection, I preferred some stories more than others. I really enjoyed Rise Up Singing, A Shania Story and Half a Point for a Good Guess. Parts of Sex in New Orleans reminded me of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening. I am unsure if the mirroring is intentional but the nod to Chopin was very clever and links to the collection’s overarching theme of womanhood and identity.
Overall, I really enjoyed this collection. At times, I was left wanting more from the stories but I take that as a positive. This debut is intimate and modern and I am interested to see more of Wood’s writing in the future.
March 10, 2024
Loved her writing, some of the stories felt like they went over my head though.
November 2, 2025
Random library pick, a bunch of short stories that you gradually realise are following the same group of friends and mainly one character who seems an author self insert/reflection (interestingly kinda addressed kinda not in a weird final story). Most if not all of these short stories are less ‘stories’ and more slice of life vignettes, following this cast of girls growing up drinking taking drugs having sex and growing older. They were engagingly well written, although without a story I found most of them have slid off my memory without much to grasp onto other than kinda enjoying the ride.
My favourites were probably ‘Good solid obliterating fuck,’ which ironically features no good solid obliterating fucking but rather recounts a chance meeting on a train and an unfolding moment of beautiful platonic yet also kinda not platonic connection between two strangers opening up to another; and ‘Wild nights’ recounting meeting a gorgeous dj at a house party and enjoying two days and nights of blissful sapphic connection before returning to the mundanity of life.
Can’t say I feel like I’ll remember much of this book once finished writing review, but I definitely don’t regret reading, enjoyed my short time with it.
My favourites were probably ‘Good solid obliterating fuck,’ which ironically features no good solid obliterating fucking but rather recounts a chance meeting on a train and an unfolding moment of beautiful platonic yet also kinda not platonic connection between two strangers opening up to another; and ‘Wild nights’ recounting meeting a gorgeous dj at a house party and enjoying two days and nights of blissful sapphic connection before returning to the mundanity of life.
Can’t say I feel like I’ll remember much of this book once finished writing review, but I definitely don’t regret reading, enjoyed my short time with it.
April 1, 2022
I finished this book nearly a week ago but it has taken me this time to comprise my thoughts enough to be able to write this review, as I just simply loved it.
Yes Yes More More is a series of short stories all entailing different moments in the lives of the characters, many of which feature references to the other stories. Wood's fascinating presentation of the simple and mundane interspersed with thrilling and life-changing events truly highlights how life fluctuates and exposes the beauty in every moment.
While I did find the chronology and characters of this book confusing and hard to follow at first, the captivating atmosphere and fascinating commentary on the human condition more than made up for it. If anything, my confusion only added to my enjoyment of the book as it forced me to think about it more and consider all the connections between the stories. I particularly enjoyed 'Solid Good Obliterating Fuck' and its look into how easily friendships can be formed and how sweet they can be, I'm reminded of this section when I dunk my Kitkat (that I steal from my boyfriend) into my coffee every day and it just reminds me of the Proust-like man on the train.
Wood also explores themes of grief, love, feeling of entrapment and the need for change in this novel, which altogether creates a captivating look into everyday life. Wood's ability to create such captivating descriptions even in her shortest stories shows her talent and makes me excited to read more by her.
Thank you to Jordan, who sent me a copy of the book for review.
Yes Yes More More is a series of short stories all entailing different moments in the lives of the characters, many of which feature references to the other stories. Wood's fascinating presentation of the simple and mundane interspersed with thrilling and life-changing events truly highlights how life fluctuates and exposes the beauty in every moment.
While I did find the chronology and characters of this book confusing and hard to follow at first, the captivating atmosphere and fascinating commentary on the human condition more than made up for it. If anything, my confusion only added to my enjoyment of the book as it forced me to think about it more and consider all the connections between the stories. I particularly enjoyed 'Solid Good Obliterating Fuck' and its look into how easily friendships can be formed and how sweet they can be, I'm reminded of this section when I dunk my Kitkat (that I steal from my boyfriend) into my coffee every day and it just reminds me of the Proust-like man on the train.
Wood also explores themes of grief, love, feeling of entrapment and the need for change in this novel, which altogether creates a captivating look into everyday life. Wood's ability to create such captivating descriptions even in her shortest stories shows her talent and makes me excited to read more by her.
Thank you to Jordan, who sent me a copy of the book for review.
August 23, 2021
I could not have loved this collection more: funny sad and hopeful, these wonderful stories are all united by a profound sense of hope and joy, the sinple pleasure of female friendship or late night naked swim in a pond. In that sense they reminded me a lot of Ali Smith's writing, but they were also unafraid of darkness and cynical snarkiness, more reminiscent of Gwendoline Riley. Being reminded of both these writers is honestly one of the biggest compliments I can think of. I can't wait to read more by her.
April 27, 2024
Yes, the author can clearly write - there were some beautiful moments in this short collection of short stories, and yes, I only paid a quid for this second hand so can't complain I wasn't happy with my purchase and the couple of hours enjoyment I got from this.
However, I wanted more variety and more depth to the stories. In the end this was a book of tales which seemed to mainly focus on women of more or less a similar age thrusting themselves out into a complex and raw world, and several felt a little underdeveloped or lacking in a full narrative arc.
However, I wanted more variety and more depth to the stories. In the end this was a book of tales which seemed to mainly focus on women of more or less a similar age thrusting themselves out into a complex and raw world, and several felt a little underdeveloped or lacking in a full narrative arc.
January 9, 2024
I struggled with the lack of a continuous plot with this book - it is more a collection of short stories which are funny, well-written and leave you wanting to find out more. But I guess that is the aim of the novella, to leave you wanting more. I would have loved to have seen how each of the stories surrounding the same character panned out in the wider sphere of her life.
March 25, 2023
I got through this quickly.
I did enjoy the short stories and would love them to become their own novels on their own right and know more about each one.
I found it weird to start a story and have such a quick end but this isn’t a problem just not what I’m used to.
I did enjoy the short stories and would love them to become their own novels on their own right and know more about each one.
I found it weird to start a story and have such a quick end but this isn’t a problem just not what I’m used to.
November 28, 2021
Possibly my favourite book I’ve read this year. Prose that feels like poetry.
January 27, 2023
„Wild nights“ is the best story
January 27, 2023
One of these short stories is a story; the others are fragments of scattered thoughts. Which is nice and all but feels more like a work in progress notebook than a publishable collection
May 30, 2023
Loved this book. Please, millennial women, read this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews