Best British Short Stories 2015 by Nicholas Royle

Best British Short Stories 2015 Reviews

• 
  JimZ

  3 stars. But that’s an average (the mean) of all 21 stories…some were really good, some were OK, and some were not-so-good in my exalted opinion. 😊
  
  So I’ve read 2011 (3 stars), 2013 (3 stars), 2015 (3 stars), 2018 (4 stars) and 2020 (4 stars). This is a pleasant experience… I have five more to go…and then I can look forward to the 2021 volume 😊
  
  Nine stories were 3.5 stars and higher so that’s good. Most enjoyable story was Lightbox. Totally unexpected what was really going on while I was reading the story. I only got it at the last paragraph of the story. And then I went back and said “Ahhhh. Of course!” But not really “Of course…” I bet nobody who read this saw this coming while in the beginning or middle of the engaging story.
  
  Here are the titles of the stories in order of appearance, who wrote the story, number of stars I gave it, and where it was originally presented.
  1. The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher, August 6, 1983 – Hilary Mantel [2.5 stars]…originally published in The Guardian
  2. Lucky – Julianne Pachico [3.5 stars]…originally published in Lighthouse 5
  3. The Iron Men – Bee Lewis [5 stars]…originally published in Anglo Files 174
  4. Festschrift – Jonathan Gibbs [2.5 stars]…originally published in Gorse 2
  5. Five Thousand Lads a Year – Jenn Ashworth [3.5 stars]… originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4
  6.
  L.S.Lowry/Man Lying on a Wall – Neil Campbell [4.5 stars]…originally published in Ekphrasis (The Knives and Forks and Spoons Press)
  7. Lightbox – Emma Cleary [5 stars]…originally published in Lighthouse 5
  8. Green Boots’ Cave – Jim Hinks [2.5 stars]…originally published Short Fiction in Theory and Practice, Volume 4 Issue 1
  9. The Clinic – Uschi Gatward [2.5 stars]…originally published in Structo 12
  10. May the Bell Be Rung for Harriet – Tracey S. Rosenberg [1 star]…reprinted in Brontë Studies (Volume 40, Issue 1)
  11. Strong Man – Helen Simpson [3 stars]…originally published in The New Statesman
  12. Voice Over – Matthew Sperling [1 star]…originally published online in the Literateur
  13. The Lake Shore Limited – K. Jorr [3.5 stars]…originally published in Dublin Review 56
  14. The First Day – Tamar Hodes [4.5 stars]…originally published in Wiltshire View (September 2014)
  15. Go Wild in the Country – Alan McCormick [1 star]…originally published in 3:AM Magazine
  16. Secondhand Magic – Helen Marshall [2 stars]…originally published in Gifts for the One Who Comes After (ChiZine Publications)
  17. Fresh Water – Charles Wilkinson [1.5 stars]…originally published in Untology 5 (Unthank Books)
  18. The Common People – Rebecca Swirsky [3.5 stars]…originally published online in Litro
  19. Eastmouth – Alison Moore [4 stars]…originally published in The Spectral Book of Horror Stories (Spectral Press)
  20. The Tourists – Julianne Pachico [2.5 stars]…originally published by Daunt Books
  21. Worlds From the Word’s End – Joanne Walsh [1 star]…originally published in Best European Fiction 2015 (Dalkey Archive Press)
  
• 
  Mackenzie Brown

  This collection is formed from a myriad of short stories by talented British writers in many styles and genres.
  I was particularly interested as I’m currently putting together a collection of my own short stories and was interested in the craft and design of each tale. Many are off beat, all well written, but some stood out for me personally. I loved ‘The Iron Men’ by Bee Lewis and ‘Secondhand Magic’ by Helen Marshall. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone as an ideal lunchtime read. All of the stories are fascinating in their own way and I would guarantee there will be something for everyone in this colourful array of short literature.
  
• 
  Dan Coxon

  Nicholas Royle's Best British Short Stories series is always something to look forward to, and this year's is no exception. I'll confess to dipping in and out of it this time around, rather than reading from cover to cover, but the stories were still uniformly excellent. Julianne Pachico's two stories stood out for me, particularly 'The Tourists' , as well as Alison Moore's 'Eastmouth', but there's not a dull moment to be found. Will be eagerly awaiting the 2016 volume!
• 
  Fin Gray

  This is a wonderful collection of short stories edited by Nicholas Royle and makes 2015 a very rich year for short fiction. The standout contribution for me was The Iron Men, written by Bee Lewis. Full of powerful imagery, this animation of the inanimate was original and thought-provoking as well as being strangely moving. This is a tale that stays with you long afterwards and begs you to read it again so that you can be sure you have missed no detail of it. If you buy this book for no other reason, buy it for this.
  You won't be disappointed by the other contributions either, not least The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher August 6th 1983. This is the opening story to the collection and rightly so since it is a rare short story outing by Hilary Mantel, better known for her historical fiction. This is an imagining of the death of Margaret Thatcher, early into her tenure as Prime Minister, set against the backdrop of the Falkland Islands conflict. As a fan of alternative histories, this was very satisfying for me.
  Salt Publishing regularly release Best British Short Stories every year. They certinly have a good eye for great quality fiction.
  
• 
  Des Lewis

  The silence that starts after the end of every book. There will always be one book that will be the last one you ever finish reading. Let’s hope it is this one. Or that it isn’t. Depends on hindsight. Or on those who watch as alien outsiders, watching us common people.
  
  The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
  Above is one of my observations at the time of the review.
• 
  Alan

  features a story from a fellow Tindal Street Fiction Group writer - Charles Wilkinson....
  realise I haven't reviewed this - mainly because I didn't finish reading before my daughter borrowed and I've yet to get it back. So, really, it should be currently reading....
• 
  Sarah

  Good collection, some writers I will definitely follow up on e.g. Alison Moore.
• 
  Amanda Artist Cat

  Very enjoyable, though I don't understand plenty of them...
  I loved Hillary Mantel's short story, and "First Day" was truly genius.
• 
  Fionnuala

  I'm trying to get into reading more short stories this year, and this is a brilliant little collection. There wasn't a single one I disliked; of course, there were some I liked more than others, but it was genuinely solid and all the stories were enjoyable. Quite often short story collections are good to dip in and out of but I ended up reading the second half of this book in one go because the stories were so varied. There are definitely a few I know I'll have to come back to and think about in more detail, as well.