[Book Review]: If No One Speaks by Sam Szanto

About the Book

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Collection of short stories

Publisher: Alien Buddha Press

Release Date: 13th July 2022

The 26 stories in Sam Szanto’s debut collection, ‘If No One Speaks’, centre around the ideas of voicelessness and dispossession.

The theme of displacement manifests physically, many of the characters living in brutal environments or trapped away from home: as in ‘Mikey’, when two sisters are stuck in a car on their way to their father’s funeral. In others, characters endure mental alienation, whether from unsuitable lovers, their physical environment or due to being unable to speak about brutality.

Displacement is also dealt with through the subject of crime: ‘My Sister the Murderer’ is about a woman who frames her sister for murder; in ‘The Yellow Circle’ a policewoman commits a crime after becoming obsessed with a particular scent, and in ‘Making Memories’ two girls on holiday in Thailand become drug mules; the characters must deal with enforced separation because of their actions.

Every story concerns a relationship, usually one facing a difficulty. ‘Well, we are in Spain’ is about a romantic relationship threatened by a man’s female best friend; ‘Inaccrochable’ concerns an extra-marital affair jeopardised by lockdown; ‘Phil in Real Life’ is about how the idea of online dating often differs from the reality; ‘The Second Therapy Session’ is also likely to be the last for one couple, while in ‘Don’t Refuse Me’ a woman is taken by surprise by a less than romantic marriage proposal. Many of the stories are about those separated from loved ones, and the courage it takes to bear this. Family is a focus of the collection, from a story about a woman who has to physically let go of her daughter in a towerblock fire (‘Letting Go’), to three stories about daughters grieving their fathers.

Some stories feature the supernatural, such as ‘The Stranger in the Living Room’ that is about a woman’s encounter with a vampire; in ‘Everyone Loved Romy’ a man sees the ghost of his past love at a school reunion; in ‘Apple Crumble Baked by a Ghost’ a ghost appears to support and cook for her daughter, while in ‘Someone Just Like Me’, a woman finds herself confronted with someone whose looks and experiences mirror her own so closely she could be a doppelganger.

There is a strong theme of women’s resilience and ability to overcome adversity in the collection. The protagonists, wherever they live and whoever they encounter, are relatable and the writing is often comic as well as evocative. Many stories end with the sense that the characters will be redeemed or that their lives will improve.

The majority of the stories feature displaced or alienated female protagonists. There are sub-themes of love, loss, incarceration, the forbidden and female solidarity. The protagonists are a variety of ages in diverse situations, in settings spanning the globe, including: a Russian prison, a Bangladeshi brothel, a Thai jail, a Madrid market and the English Lake District.

The stories are structured around their dialogue with each other, one piece speaking to the next through subject or tone. The title story, ‘If No One Speaks’, about Russian women’s resilience and endeavour to speak out in prison, is followed by ‘Quiet Love’, about nuns who fall in love in a convent, after which comes ‘125’ about a young woman living in a brothel who is attracted to a married client. The stories come thematically full circle, with the first story ending with a mother’s plea for her daughter not to grow up in silence and the final story closing with a mother and a daughter singing together.

About the Author

Sam Szanto grew up in Eastbourne, East Sussex, the daughter of an astrologer/barrister and a psychiatric nurse.
Her numerous jobs have included ice cream seller, Lush retailer and marketing for a national blind charity. She has always had cats. She has an embarrassing richness of degrees (from Warwick, Sheffield, Bath Spa and now Newcastle), including three Master’s degrees – one currently in progress, all in English-related subjects.
A gypsy by nature, Sam has lived all over the country. After 20 years in London, she moved her family (a husband, two children and the ubiquitous cat) up to Durham.
Her surname is Hungarian and is pronounced (in English) San-to. She’s heard all the Santa jokes.

Media Links

Blog: https://www.samszanto.com/blog

Site: https://www.samszanto.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sam_szanto

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sam.szanto/

My review

4,5 stars

 

If No One Speaks is a brilliant collection of twenty-six short stories where the author explores womanhood and women’s power. Szanto’s characters are women from all ways of life, usually disadvantaged, abused both physically and mentally, abandoned, unloved, the women who experience failed friendship, struggles of motherhood and sisterhood.

Szanto’s women are flawed but realistic. They make a reader experience all spectrums of emotions: from hatred to deep love, from disgust to admiration. They are failed mothers and sisters, murderers and victims, prostitutes and policewomen, prisoners of real jails and their own psyche, but they all have one in common – they deserve empathy and love.

My favourite stories from the collection are:

If No One Speaks tells a story about Natalya, a journalist and activist, who was sentenced to a Russian prison for self-defence. The conditions are tough, inhumane, but nobody dares to raise their voice. Is Natalya brave enough to do it?

Mikey, a tale of two sisters who travel to attend their father’s funeral, but get stuck in a snowstorm. Love and faith bring a guardian angel to their help.

My Sister the Murderer is a true crime story where a woman, driven by jealousy and revenge, frames her sister for murder. A lyrical tale of failed sisterhood.

Making Memories where two best friends get into trouble during their trip to Thailand and end up in prison. Will their friendship survive the challenge? Or is it money that rules the world, buying freedom?

The Cleaner isa tale of a woman who works in a rich household. Under the glam and glitter of big money, she discovers all the troubles and dirty secrets of the family.

I gave the book 4,5* as some of the stories’ endings seems a bit too quick and abrupt to me. I’d love to see a bit slower development.   

Purchase Links

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61457098-if-no-one-speaks