Lying Together by Gaynor Arnold

I was really impressed by Gaynor Arnold's debut novel; The Girl In The Blue Dress, it was one of my favourite reads of 2008 and was longlisted for both the Orange Prize and the Man Booker Prize.

Lying Together is Arnold's collection of short stories, and published by Tindal Street Press in 2011.   I was very curious to discover if her short stories would compare with the brilliance of the full-length novel.

This is a collection of stories based on broken relationships, and broken people.  Gaynor Arnold has conjured up some wonderfully colourful characters in these stories, some set in the past, some in the present
with both male and female narrators.   She certainly has a great gift for capturing the reader's attention, and almost every story is engaging and entertaining.  Like most short story collections, some are better than others and I especially enjoyed the linked pair of stories; Mouth and Angel Child.  These two stories tell the story of Geraldine, from her perspective and that of her mother's.

Gaynor Arnold has proved that she can produce a cracking novel and I was delighted by this collection too.

More information about Gaynor Arnold and her books can be found on her website here