A most charming review of The View From Endless Street, my story collection with WiDo:-
THE VIEW FROM ENDLESS STREET by Rebecca Lloyd
Ah, the quality . . . Apart from all its other many virtues, what stands out for me in this collection is the sheer quality of the writing. Too often these days, books shout out at the reader, demanding to be read, throwing their usually temporary and unpolished charms in our faces. But with Lloyd’s writing, you have to enter its world, which is one full of subtle, powerful imagery, human sorrow, natural eccentricity and memorable scenes.
Each of these stories is not just well-crafted, but unique – not with literary gimmicks but with feeling. Many of them provide exactly the same strange, moving and elusive experience of a dream that is not hard-edged and brightly coloured, not immediately understandable, but which resonates with universal human truth that is difficult to conjure in ordinary life.
Lloyd is also good at creating great characters. For me, this is particularly so in ‘The Oil Drum’ and ‘The Lobster Woman’s Luck’. Both these stories contain enough rich setting and memorable characters to easily become novels. And perhaps this is the mark of someone who is a born short fiction writer, as opposed to one who is just filling in time between novels and wary of wasting too much good material on so few words. They’re also very different worlds, which might sound like an obvious requirement but in fact few short story writers are able to convincingly achieve clear distinction in their settings. In fact, many seemed constricted by the fear that if they make their stories too diverse, the reader will feel uncomfortable. It’s clear that Lloyd is interested only in the integrity of each story.
I was offered a copy of this book in return for a review and was happy to agree since I’ve been an admirer of Rebecca Lloyd’s writing for a long time. I’ve given this book four stars, although it’s closer to four and a half, really. All that prevents me giving it five is probably just a matter of personal taste. Overall, the style veers towards literary fiction, which for me means the storylines are sometimes a little obscure. If it leaned a little closer to magic realism or fantasy, I suspect this would not have been an issue. Having said that, this book will appeal strongly to both literary and fantasy fans.
Overall, if you’re looking for stories that require some concentration before rewarding you handsomely, rather than wanting a quick, generic and predictable fix, then this collection is definitely for you.
T. D. Edge
