Dawn French Bought My Lava Lamp + other short stories by Lisbeth Foye

Seven short stories  

1.Together Again - It's all about the choices we make - in this life, and the next... 

2.History Of A Stick - The ongoing repercussions of a murder committed in 1899 are still felt today. 

3.Dawn French Bought My Lava Lamp - It seems that this could be the solution to everything, or then again, perhaps not. 

4.Peculiar Ways - An old man recounts his life and how fate forced him along the road to his destiny. 

5.The Whistleblower - A coward hides under the protection of the Whistleblowing policy to cheat on a friend and comes a cropper. 

6.The Story Of Thomas Cotter - This tale of a man who lives a mundane life, at least, that's what his new neighbours believe. 

7.Luca - A brief encounter in the 21st century

Dawn French Bought My Lava Lamp is the title story in this collection of seven from Lisbeth Foye. I've read two of this author's full length novels and reviewed them here on Random Things; The Biggest Lie (February 2014) and Truth Unscrewed (March 2015).

Whilst I do enjoy a good short story, I've found that quite often, a whole collection from the same author can be disappointing. It's quite likely that there will be a couple of stories that I enjoy, a couple that are so-so, and always a couple that just don't do it for me.  I have been absolutely delighted by this collection, and have loved each and every one of them. There isn't a dud amongst them, and I just wish that there were more than seven in the collection.

The stories range from the historical, to the up to date. We meet wonderfully created characters who despite the constrictions of the short-story format are whole and rounded and the reader really can connect with them. Each eloquent little tale is beautifully articulated, some with humour, all with a passion. The vulnerability of the human race is exposed with a rawness that touches the heart of the reader, nobody could fail to fall a little in love with Thomas Cotter; the subject of the longest story in this book.

Lisbeth Foye is a very clever author. These stories are sharp and perceptive and a total joy to read. I hope that the author has more up her sleeve and will publish them soon.

My thanks to Lisbeth Foye who sent my copy for review.


Lisbeth Foye is the author of Three fictional novels; The Biggest Lie, Luca, and Truth Unscrewed - the sequel to The Biggest.Lie was released April 2014

She was born in York, England where she grew up in the 1950's and 60's. 

The 1970's took her travelling around Europe where she spent the decade living and working in Paris - France, Spain and many years in Holland before returning to England in 1983 where she settled in London before moving to Cambridgeshire where she now lives.

She believes that there's still another location or two she has yet to move on to...


A nomadic-hippy at heart, Lisbeth's experiences have been a big influence contributing to the colorful characters and incidents in her books.

Follow her on Twitter @LisbethFoye