Singularity

by Charlotte Grimshaw

A compelling and powerful new collection of stories from one of New Zealand’s most gifted writers. Richly detailed, vivid with local colour, each story is an examination of human motive, and of the complex ties that bind the five principal characters together.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

First published May 1, 2009

About the author

Charlotte Grimshaw is the author of a number of critically acclaimed novels and outstanding collections of short stories. She has been a double finalist and prize winner in the Sunday Star-Times short story competition, and in 2006 she won the BNZ Katherine Mansfield Award. In 2007 she won a Book Council Six Pack prize. Her story collection Opportunity was shortlisted for the 2007 Frank O'Connor International Prize, and in 2008 Opportunity won New Zealand's premier Montana Award for Fiction or Poetry. She was also the 2008 Montana Book Reviewer of the Year. Her story collection Singularity was shortlisted for the 2009 Frank O'Connor International Prize and the South East Asia and Pacific section of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize. Grimshaw's fourth novel, The Night Book was shortlisted for the 2011 NZ Post Award. She writes a monthly column in Metro magazine, for which she won a 2009 Qantas Media Award.

Reviews

[Kiwiflora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Charlotte Grimshaw's writing. With the one exception - her last novel Mazarine which I just did not really get or enjoy. It was reassuring to read other reader reviews to see I wasn't the only one. Having just finished her outstanding and intimate memoir The Mirror Book, I just had to go back to reading some of her earlier books. Again. A lot of her earlier writings feature in this memoir, and I do now have more understanding of her purpose in writing Mazarine.

This collection of short stories was published in 2009, which is probably when I read it. She is an observer of people, of relationships, of the landscape and physical world around her. She writes lovingly and beautifully of the places she lives in, visits, holidays in. Even walking around her city, she writes evocative pictures of her settings with writing that draws you in, makes you part of the story, makes you feel what the story is. Her stories are about ordinary people, doing ordinary things, yet somehow she makes them important, special, meaningful. I read this collection again because she refers to many of the stories in her memoir, and how she came to write them. Some of them are based on things that happened to her in childhood, most notably a walk that three children under the age of 10 are sent on that almost ends in tragedy. The real walk and the fictional walk are almost identical in their telling, which is very chilling. After reading the memoir, many of the threads in her short stories make more sense, there is much greater depth to the stories because you now know where they come from.

I really hope she goes back to writing like this, as she also has in her short story selection Opportunity, and in her earlier novels. I will go back to being a big fan.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

some exquisite writing, beautifully interwoven tales and characters. at times it feels as if you are reading through glass - a coolness in the telling. the pace is intense too - so much information, as if edited, compressed, or distilled. a distinct, though not unpleasant flavor.

[Penny Geard · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 30% ish.
For me, short stories need to have a point and most of these were so all over the place that it was hard to see what was even happening, let alone what the point was. It was nice to have that NZ feel in the setting but the stories just weren't enjoyable to read other than that and I couldn't face pushing my way any further through this.

[Coralie Mae · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. The short stories all connect with one another, and you meet the characters at different points of their life.
I also really enjoyed the way she tied in Peter Plumley Walker and a D. Bain type character.

[Adele · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of gritty short stories by New Zealand author Charlotte Grimshaw. Each story links loosely together through the characters and the collection tells of small town NZ or just small lives in middle New Zealand. There's a nice little story about a journalist who is sent to Uluru (Ayers Rock)to cover the tourist spot. She comes across fellow tourists from New Zealand, a criminal lawyer and his recently acquitted client who have an interesting symbiotic relationship. Grimshaw's writing style is very reminiscent of Tim Winton's - especially his short stories 'The Turning'. I reccommend.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I surprised myself by really liking this book. The short stories are beautifully drawn, and at the end of each one I felt real satisfaction, unlike a lot of collections of short stories, when I just feel short-changed. Then after you've read a few, the characters keep coming back, intertwined, and over many years. But by the time I realised that was happening, I was already hooked.

I want to read more of her.

[Camille · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not normally into short stories as they don't provide enough plot or character satisfaction but the way the writing plus the interconnections between some of the characters made this a great read. Loved it so much have hunted down Originality too. This is my favourite Charlotte Grimshaw book to date.

[Lynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Winner of the 2008 Montana New Zealand Book Awards.

[Vera · Rating 2 out of 5]

A case of "I wrote a book because my dad is a famous writer".

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love these stories, CG reaches in and portrays lives and incidents with alot of honesty and soul searching.

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories, but with the same characters reappearing in the stories. I loved it, haven't read short stories in a while, I think I should start reading more of them again.

[Alexander McStan 82 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Her best work; this follows on from the Opportunity collection, in particular the characters Simon Lampton, his brother Reid, and their partners / love interests.