Ways of Living

by Gemma Seltzer

‘These are sharp, wry, playful stories of split and secret selves, alter-egos, doppelgangers – of escape routes from the very contemporary and existential crises their women find themselves in.'

– Lucy Caldwell, author of Intimacies

Andie can see no other way to escape a wedding than by hiding in a tree. Esther starts a new life in a King’s Cross hotel with a bad-tempered ventriloquist dummy, while Gina finally leaves a group of infuriating friends – but not before providing them with a suitable replacement.

Ways of Living is Gemma Seltzer’s keen exploration of what it means to be a modern woman inhabiting the urban landscape. Ten stories of ordinary women going to extraordinary lengths to be understood, acting in bold and unpredictable ways as they map their identities onto London’s streets.

How do we speak and listen to each other? Who gets to talk? And what is the true power of quiet in a noisy world?

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Contemporary, London

160 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 15, 2021

About the author

Gemma Seltzer is a London-based writer. She runs Write & Shine, a programme of early morning writing workshops and online courses.

Her latest collection of short stories 'Ways of Living' is published by Influx Press.

www.gemmaseltzer.com
www.write-and-shine.com

Reviews

[Mark Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

"It's life, isn't it? This give and take, the please and thank you, the it's my turn, its your turn" 

Ingenious collection of ten short stories documenting various women's lives in London. Seltzer divulges in the acknowledgements that they were all drafted while ambling through the streets of London, 'navigating the city on foot', and laying the foundations for a set of quirky tales based on overheard conversations, memories and other literary influences. Perhaps this is why all of these stories possess such authenticity. They're moving and uninhibited, and proficiently sketch out ordinary lives, and how perplexing ordinary life can be.

Recommend: Other Esther and Some Women Carry Silence in their Pockets

[Bart Van Overmeire · Rating 5 out of 5]

10 brilliant short stories about ordinary women in London. But also weird, as normal life is. Sharp, witty and all the other laudatory adjectives! Just buy it, because you won't read a better short story collection this year.

[hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

so fucking good. SO fucking good.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a brilliant short story collection! Each story is so original and quirky, with familiar details of London interspersed with some very surreal plots all about "modern women" in an urban landscape. It is in turns hilarious, touching and unsettling. As the blurb on the back cover explains, it is a collection of ten stories about "ordinary women going to extraordinary lengths to be understood" - in ways that veer between the comical and the tragic. Take, for example, Sadie in "Too Close and Not Close Enough" who changes her name by deed poll to the name of her former school best friend Sadie. Or the vegetarian performance artist who puts on a grotesque show in response to being obliged to watch her dinner companions ordering steaks. My personal favourites were "Some Women Carry Silence in their Pockets" (when the protagonist's late mother reappears in miniature and she carries her around in her pocket, unbeknownst to everyone else she meets) and the final, longer story "Parched" (about a woman who is so in touch with her emotions and able to cry that she gets paid to help other people release their emotions by crying with them - in random public places). And the writing just flows so beautifully throughout. 10/10 would recommend.

[Gabby Humphreys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ways of Living, one kindly gifted to me that I hadn’t heard of before santa (@jordtaylorjones and @influxpress) posted it through my letter box. Thank you x10.

In this, is a collection of ten short stories of whom are branded ordinary women, and their weird coping mechanisms with the oddness of present day.

This is a unique little read that fully had my attention. This weekend a read of this was slotted into all the time gaps in my days. It’s almost abstract in its writing due to the silly plots of tales, yet it’s themes are complex. For example, hiding in trees and running off into the wild because of overactive WhatsApp groups are both actions in this book. But so are topics like death, loneliness, unwanted marriages. Due to it coming out in July this year, there’s also loads of subtle mentions of the pandemic. It’s no covid name drops, but in these stories of people just tryna have a breezy day, little mentions of muted skype speakers and masks is a pretty nice touch.

Influx press always do such a great job at selecting their releases and this is definitely no exception. It fits their usual abstract-but-also-not-actually category perfectly and is a really nice one.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goodness I enjoyed reading these short stories. As well as recognising corners tucked away in the city, each character is so beautifully observed that I felt like I was recognising them too. The stories are as surreal as they are insightfully real, bringing to life overlooked corners of relationships, life and what it is to be a woman in a gloriously playful way.

I can’t wait for Gemma Seltzer’s next book!

[Luke Esdale · Rating 5 out of 5]

I randomly picked this up in a book store as I love short stories and love anything based in London. However, I severely underestimated how much I would enjoy this collection. Each story is simply perfect and I devoured them all. They are simple and normal and ordinary, but also quirky and complex and confusing. Never have I read anything which contains ventriloquists, women who hide in trees, people using their tears to support others, and hiding a miniature version of your mother in your pocket and yet Ways of Living contains them all but in a way that just feel right and obvious. Give this a read - you won’t regret it!

[Leoniepeonie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely magical, joyful and fascinating collection. I loved the variety across these stories and the worlds each one plunged into, all held together with threads of London and womanhood and surrealism. They were beautifully observed even while feeling other-worldly, and the book was a real treat to keep coming back to. I'd read more Seltzer in a heartbeat!

[LittleSophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite my cup of tea, unfortunately. These stories were too weird for me, without being whimsical enough. Writing this review a week after I finished the book I'm already struggling to clearly remember any of the stories.

[Em Prend · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me, this is the perfect collection of short stories. I felt deeply connected to each woman in each story, unlike any short collection I’d read before. Deeply moving, spontaneous and full of life. Women being women, existing powerfully, authentically and mundanely. Perfection.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The tree stays with me. The bagels. Hiding.
The gaps, not ready to be filled, or that we long to fill in, but can’t always. Women’s stories, women’s lives, told roundly, told well. Stories to go back to, new meanings found each re-reading, hidden in their folds.

[Niamh]

Urmmm.. no ratings because I can tell there’s loads of talent here, but I didn’t get it at all and I didn’t connect with any of the stories. I feel a bit fomo looking at the reviews

[Helli Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book transported me every time I picked it up. It was delightful to be able to fall into a short story for a few minutes and as a busy person, it made it easy for me to read. It was so refreshing to read a book about friendship which, to me is just as important as romantic love and isn't written about enough, in my opinion! Each story was relatable but surprising. Seltzer has a unique voice and perspective. Reading Ways of Living has ignited my imagination and I now walk through the world with just a little more wonder and curiosity. A highly recommended experience!

[Madeleine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I sometimes wonder whether I give way too many 5/5 stars but at the end of the day maybe I just read BANGING books. Anyway. To the point.
This collection of short stories of luscious I won’t lie to you. SET IN LONDON first of all which is my absolute fav top thing ever. Each story focuses on another woman living in London but doing it in her own special unique bad bitch way. I just love women being weird in a cool way and cool in a weird way AND THATS WHAT THIS EMBRACES.
It’s a super easy read and super duper quick and because it’s individual wacky stories you can just dip in and out. Also genuinely all of the stories are good ones like there are no bad ones they all just are so unique and I just feel so like BE A WOMAN AND BE WEIRD.
Some of the stories are super fun because you read them and start off like what the freak and then you’re like OMG. The second story, Other Esther is especially silly for this.
It’s hard to write a lot of stuff in a review because it’s 10 different stories but can someone please read it (it’ll take like five minutes) so I can discuss urgently.

[Rosie Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ten stories, ten women, ten parts of London. Some will make you laugh, some will make you a little sad, some will make you angry, and some will make you think what on earth? They’re surprising, touching and quirky. I bought this based on the cover and I’m so happy I did, because not only are the stories wonderful, I’ve also joined some of Gemma’s Write and Shine classes and have found a lovely writing community

[Annette Brook · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of surreal, moving, funny, quirky short stories about young women navigating London living.

[Katrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Ways of Living, loved it.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic, moving short stories that stay with you.

[Julian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant & truly original collection of short stories about women manoeuvring through present day London.

Following Seltzer’s characters, as she peels off layer after layer of behavioural conventions, micro (+ macro) aggressions, and every-day absurdity has been a pure joy. Tense, tender, and full of humour.

[Simon Barraclough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stories often rooted on my doorstep in London but liable to take off like the house in UP, hoisted by innumerable multicoloured balloons, or to be injected right into your bloodstream and tear ducts like the tiny craft in Fantastic Voyage. Marvellous.

[Amanda Rosso · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very excellent collection of short stories, realistically hunting and imaginatively real.
A cadre of unforgettable characters and the landscape of an ever changing London. The grace with which Seltzer weaves womanhood and the urban landscape of a city so grotesquely touristic and yet unknown, elevates the writing to a point of reflection and communion with the unusual and the unexpected.

[Wallis Eates · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolute joy to read. This book became my coffee shop companion once I'd started it, and I looked forward to making excuses to go to cafes to read it! I love the scale...it's full of expansive ideas inspired by the familiar that take us into new places, and then boof - a description of a detail so tiny and true that everything comes vividly to life. From tiny mouse mothers in pockets, to the unflinching cruelty residing in a lifelong friendship, there are delicate as well as brutal moments in 'Ways of Living'. Get it and take it with you.

[Betheliza · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 This collection made me think a bit about what a short story is, and that stories which seem to be fragments or ideas can be just a valid as a traditional “complete” short story. I thought that I was slogging my way through it but actually found myself enjoying the style and ideas more as I went along. I think it definitely bears a re-read so I will not be passing it straight on as I originally assumed I would. I bought this book thinking I would love it, not really getting it, and then finally really getting it!

[Rhe-Anne Tan · Rating 3 out of 5]

draws out the mundane absurdities of being a woman / the difficulties of making oneself visible and legible, and by extension vulnerable, to the world. at times uneven, but really enjoyed 'the handover,' 'ways of living,' and 'parched.'

[Emily Bromfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories are brilliant, I can't stop thinking about the characters. They emotionally tug at you for a long time after reading. I just love this collection and will come back to it again and again.

[beyond_blue_reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious, devastating, equally real and surreal stories of women in contemporary (but also another world) London. Obsessional friendships, warped parental relationships, ventriloquists, artists, and criers. Oh, and Brick Lane bagels. Loved it.

[Georgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed most of the stories, especially the first half of the book

[Dijuke · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Pia Tejeda · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is so underrated.

[Sarah Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Total masterpiece. Loved it