The Other Side of Life by J Newman #TheOtherSideOfLife #Anthology #BookReview #JNewman

 

A collection of short stories from the 17th century to the present day and beyond..

The Other Side of Life by J Newman was published on 14 October 2023. I bought my copy online. 

I do like to dip in and out of a collection of short stories from time to time and The Other Side of Life is a lovely anthology of fourteen short stories, all set in and around Cornwall. 

The anthology begins with 'Vanished Without A Trace' which is a time slip story, set in the present day and skipping back to events taking place in the 1600s. This is one of the longer stories at twenty-four pages and is a fascinating and entertaining historical story, with a little bit of a twist. 

The author moves through the ages with each story, ending with 'Closure' which is a little slice of speculative/dystopia (one of my favourite genres).

Some of the stories are very short, yet the author is skilled in creating plot and characters is just a couple of pages, something that I admire very much. I really believe that it must be so very difficult to pen an interesting and compelling tale in so few words. 

The author obviously has a great love of Cornwall, and this shines through in every story in the anthology. There's also a theme of nature, and I especially enjoyed 'Tree of Life'; a story narrated by a tulip tree that is evocative and also a little bit heart breaking. 

This is the perfect book to pick up and entertain yourself between longer reads. I have enjoyed my journey through time and through Cornwall very much and intend to track down more of the author's work. 

J. A. Newman began writing when she moved to Cornwall in 2008. She had wanted to write about an important part of her life and embarked on a series of creative writing courses. Her memoir NO ONE COMES CLOSE is an emotional second chance romance.

A writer draws on what she knows and WHERE THERE'S A WILL has some elements of her background and her family history. It is a light-hearted tale of rags to riches set in south east London and the Yorkshire Dales. LOSING THE WILL is the sequel.

Her novel BAY OF SECRETS is a family saga set in her favourite part of Cornwall.

THE OTHER SIDE OF LIFE is an anthology with a touch of the unusual.

She is still very busy and hopes one day to publish a historical novel set in the English Civil War.