Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King – Short Stories

You know when a book comes your way when it’s most needed? Five Tuesdays in Winter did exactly that for me. I’m not exclusively talking about its content – more the format. This is a book of ten short stories; a genre that I have often neglected in the past, but is proving to be ideal in these never-ending-pandemic-reduced-concentration times.

I actually realised short stories were the perfect reads for me over Christmas when I picked up The Mistletoe Murder by P.D James as one of my festive books. I read this one shortly after that in December too and found the short structure to be perfect for my frame of mind.

10 Short Stories

As mentioned, I don’t read a lot of short stores, therefore I don’t review them a lot. It’s a tricky one as I’m sure you don’t want to read a synopsis of all ten, so I’ll stick to overarching themes.

I grew up with parents who never talked about the things that mattered, the things that pained them.
North Sea

Lots of the stories feature a teenage narrator, some took a darker turn than I was expecting, some were far more emotional and with some I took the stance as an outsider rather than feeling involved. And as these are, essentially, a snapshot of life, the variety made it all feel very authentic overall. Like these characters have entrusted you with a story from their most personal moments.

Five Tuesday in Winter is perfect for a glimpse into human nature. It’s delicate, intimate, full of love and loss and sometimes blindsides you – in the best way. I do find Lily King’s tone to easy to read and must add Writers and Lovers, her much-loved novel to my ever-expanding 2022 TBR!