Sef Hughes

Many of my favourite authors have a skill for writing across genres - Michel Faber is a good example - but it is definitely a skill. Some fail even managing it book by book, so it is admirable when someone attempts it in a collection of short stories, where the changes are even more obvious. Hughes is obviously talented in writing across a range of genres, however some are definitely better than others, which leaves this book feeling uneven. To me it read something like a collection where a student on a creative writing program was set a different genre prompt each week. That said, there are some real gems in this book - I found the more 'realistic' stories more moving than the more 'magical realism' attempts.
I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.… (mais)