Reviews came in thick and fast. Some are included in the book: a selection before each story, whilst others have come through subsequently. Of note are:
Sue Hampton’s Ravelled is a classic set of short stories, but better. The author delivers the concise drama we expect from good short stories, but she drives the story line deep into the realm of the heart. The reader does not need a passport to visit the underworld, the heavens, the neighborhood, family members, and ghosts. The last time I remember following characters toward their most profound insights like this was in reading the late poetry of Dr. William Carlos Williams, who had seen everything, including the likeness of his dead father on a subway. Luckily we don’t have to die to see the spirit world. It’s right here, embodied, spoken plainly, spoken musically, in the diction, dialogue and action of Sue Hampton’s Ravelled. Be foolish not to say yes to this invitation to the human voyage! –– Marilyn Kallet, author of 17 books, including The Love That Moves Me, poetry from Black Widow Press and is a Professor at the University of Tennessee
I’ve just returned from a brief holiday in Norway, and my reading material was Ravelled. Now this may sound bad on my part but just because I know you, you have a face, a body, a presence in my life on the streets of Berkhamsted (unlike James Joyce, Alice Munro etc.) I simply wasn’t prepared for how damn good your writing is! I found your insights and capture of people’s feelings, words, personalities and predicaments just absolutely wonderful in that under-stated yet sharply resonant way that only the best short story writers can express. You’re up there with the greats in my opinion. I’m so pleased to have read your work. Thank you for the courage it must have taken for you to write like this.
I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed this wonderfully diverse, challenging, beautifully written and understated collection. Each story took me to a new place and every character came alive on the page. My favourite – in the sense that I am still thinking and smiling about its warmth – is Sid’s New Start. The gentleness of the characters, the quietness of the story, the delicate twist and the feeling of optimism and hope at the end …..that really got me. It’s a wonderfully written story with totally credible characters. — John MacKenna, playwright, novelist and poet, winner of the Hennessy Literary Award, the Irish Times Fiction Award and the C Day-Lewis Award.
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