Only When the Sun Shines Brightly

by Magnus Mills

ONLY WHEN THE SUN SHINES BRIGHTLY

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories

Paperback

First published August 1, 1999

Reviews

[Stuart Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up after reading the author's novel The Scheme for Full Employment which was an enjoyable, satirical look at bureaucratic practices and the world of work. The four stories in this volume share the same prose style as that novel but are darker in tone and more enigmatic.

There's definitely a slightly sinister aspect to these stories which is a little reminiscent of Kafka, though I'm not sure that he ever wrote anything as short as these pieces. I thought every part was worth reading and thought provoking. However, at a mere 6 short pages in length, At Your Service felt underdeveloped and was easily the weakest part of the book.

Overall I thought it was a good quick read. You could easily finish the 67 pages of this small format book in a single sitting. If you like short stories which have a fable-like quality then this is worth a look.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the concept of the second short story, which shares the title of the collection, and the third. However, the first story, 'the Comforter' left me very confused, I wasn't sure what the message or point was at all really. And the last story 'Hark the Herald' I thought would have been more interesting if it were longer.

[Cassie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for more of a bite to these stories since the author is known as a satirist, so these fell pretty flat to me

[Elizabeth Northcote-Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Normally quite like Magnus Mills but couldn't really get into these stories

[Eileen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Peculiar, atmospheric and really quite short.

(Cardiff Library)

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mills’ collection of four short stories is an interesting publication because of its format: it’s a true pocket-book—3 inches by 5 inches and a mere 70 pages. As for the stories themselves, I was disappointed on the first read because I was expecting something along the lines of his novel The Restraint of Beasts (which I loved for its black humor and dialogue and quirky narrative style). The similarity is the use of allegory, but these stories are all allegory without the humor and the charged dialogue of the novel. The title story explicitly evokes one of Aesop’s fables, offers a paraphrase, and then implies that this story is a contemporary commentary on the fable. “Hark the Herald” comes closest to Beasts in style, and ends with an effect similar to many of Kafka’s shorter stories. Kafka is probably an apt comparison for Mills because of the multi-layered allegories that turn back on themselves. Mills does seem to be striving for that affect. “the Comforter” and “At Your Service” seemed the weaker of the four stories because they depended on a more straight-forward ironic reversal at the end.

[Andrew Logan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Four sketches by Magnus Mills. Short and intentionally dull. There really is no point in this as a book. It is nothing like the "high quality" the publishers claim. The stories are the kind of thing one might expect to find in a blog as examples of interesting ideas that came to nothing. Lovely for friends, family and completists. Pointless for the general reader.

[Garland Fielder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shorts by one of my favorite writers. His tone is deadpan, his stories allegorical and his pacing is spot on.

[Lyndon Lennon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful collection of quirky short stories