The Loose Lip Brigade
by Julia Newman
Don’t be fooled by the chic-lit-sounding name; this book of short stories is the opposite of a fluff read, in a good way. The 7 stories included all revolve around characters struggling with and drowning in self-doubt, anxiety, helplessness and fear of intimacy. This is not the book to read if you want to come away happy and smiling. But the writing is good, and even quite beautiful and insightful in places. The way the different emotions experienced by the characters are described is poignant and relatable, even if you’ve never sunk to quite the level some of these characters are at. We’ve all had at least moments like that, and so you feel for the characters. There are a few issues with the book, though. Most distracting for me were the off-formatting and typos – this is a self-published manuscript that could’ve benefited from an editor and someone versed in book & page layout. And while I liked all of the stories, many of them seemed unfinished – good beginnings, but no movement towards a resolution. My favorite story from the bunch was This Still House, one of the few with a hint of progress towards a resolution. It was also one of the few told from a 1st person POV, which I always favor. Overall, an interesting read with some emotional punch, as long as you can ignore the rough edges.
I give it 3/5 stars.
A copy of this book was provided for me to review, but all options and ratings are my own.
6 comments
Huh, sounds like it could be interesting!
It definitely was! I’d love to hear your thoughts once you read the e-version she’s sending you.
Definitely doesn’t sound like a happy book! haha…I’m one of those people that like a happy ending. Glad you found it interesting!
~Jessica
Jeans and a Teacup
I generally prefer a happy ending, too. And if it’s not happy, it at least has to be satisfying and make sense. I think that’s why I don’t read short stories very often, because they don’t have time to really develop much in such a short space, so I rarely find them satisfying.
This sounds interesting. I may have to search this one out and give it a go. I love your reviews!
Thank you! 🙂 It was definitely interesting. I think it’s available on Amazon and the like.