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Best Summer Stories
Brilliant short fiction from some of Australia’s most talented storytellersA woman suspects her partner of murder. A father seeks to save his son from a looming disaster. A boy finds love in the heat of summer as a dust storm transforms his city and his fortunes. A guard in a detention centre causes tragedy. A town is consumed by a strange apocalypse that its residents struggle to keep contained.Continuing Black Inc.’s long tradition of discovering and celebrating the country’s finest writers, these exceptional stories will entertain, move and provoke you long after you finish reading. Spend this summer with Australia’s best writers.Michael Mohammed Ahmad • Liz Allan • Romy Ash • Tony Birch • Stephanie Bishop • Mikaella Clements • Aoife Clifford • Lauren Aimee Curtis • Demet Divaroren • Elizabeth Flux • John Kinsella • Jack Latimore • Jennifer Mills • Paddy O'Reilly • Fikret Pajalic • Elliot Perlman • Allee Richards • Mirandi Riwoe • Beejay Silcox • Elizabeth Tan • Tien Tran • Brenda Walker • Ben Walter • Marlee Jane Ward • Katy Warner • Chris Womersley • Danielle Wood • Michelle Wright
322 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2018
About the author
Aviva Tuffield
4 booksAviva Tuffield has worked in Australian publishing for many years, including as a publisher at the University of Queensland Press, Black Inc., Affirm Press and Scribe Publications, where she was responsible for building an award-winning Australian fiction list. She was a co-founder and the inaugural executive director of the Stella Prize. In 2015 she was selected as one of Westpac/Australian Financial Review’s 100 Women of Influence, and has also been a finalist in the NAB Women’s Agenda Leadership Awards for her work with the Stella Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 12, 2019
At first glance this looks like a fairly trashy offering, girl lying on beach on cover, nothing too difficult inside. Look a bit closer however & you will see she is not your stereotypical beach babe, she doesn't shave her pits for one & she's indulging in a little Proust for light reading. You should never judge a book by it's cover (0f course not except just about everyone does) but this cover is more interesting than most & it does live up to its promise.
The stories are eclectic, make you think & very well written. Short stories are my favourite form of literature when done well & these are done very well & well selected also. Unfortunately I read fast & don't make notes plus I read this 2 weeks ago, all I can say is read it.
The stories are eclectic, make you think & very well written. Short stories are my favourite form of literature when done well & these are done very well & well selected also. Unfortunately I read fast & don't make notes plus I read this 2 weeks ago, all I can say is read it.
January 26, 2019
Quite uninspired except for Elizabeth Tan’s short story which is inventive, amusing and sharply observing of modern corporate life.
December 26, 2018
This book looks promising but none of the stories I've read so far have been enjoyable or memorable. There was one that had potential but was left in limbo at its conclusion. Perhaps it's because I'm just not keen on the short story format, so 2 because of my prejudice. I tried, but other more engaging books are calling.
July 18, 2022
It's great that Black Inc is creating collections of Australian short fiction with contributions from young and upcoming writers. It's so important that emerging writers have the opportunity to be published.
Unfortunately, this particular collection is not very engaging. The majority of the stories don't really have a narrative or engrossing idea to capture you. They seem to be selected mostly on their 'feel' - gritty realism with lots of references to the harsh Australian landscape, drugs, depression etc.
Honestly, I read it a couple of days ago and the stories have started to blend into each other in my memory already. Of course there's a couple of exceptions that stood out, but not enough to give a positive review to the collection as a whole.
Unfortunately, this particular collection is not very engaging. The majority of the stories don't really have a narrative or engrossing idea to capture you. They seem to be selected mostly on their 'feel' - gritty realism with lots of references to the harsh Australian landscape, drugs, depression etc.
Honestly, I read it a couple of days ago and the stories have started to blend into each other in my memory already. Of course there's a couple of exceptions that stood out, but not enough to give a positive review to the collection as a whole.
April 21, 2019
Great collection.
January 11, 2023
i'm obsessed with maybe 2 stories the rest were mid af. BUT THOSE PARTICULAR 2 DAMN
December 24, 2020
A fairly uneven collection. Mostly not engaging and once read forgotten. I was looking for some exquisite gems but not in this collection.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews