Great fun. Typical de Bernieres whimsy, great for lockdown.

I think it does pretty well for a short story collection; though with the average Mildly Neurotic MCs for most of the stories, there were some lovely ones (My favourite was "Andouil and Andouillette Begin Their Holiday"... i couldnt stop snorting) that I really appreciated! Not the best but I do not regret reading it necessarily... so yay

Thirteen short stories set around the world. Lots of humour, quirkiness and humanity in all its forms. Not one duffer. My favourites were

Labels - a man who obsessively collects cat food labels.

Our Lady of Beauty - a priest, a corpse and a volcano.

The Deposit - an addict and a violin.

Andouil and Andouillette Begin Their Holiday - a caravan, a toilet roll and a group of Hell's Angels.

A Day Out for Mehmet Erbil - a tourist, an empty can and a friendship.

A Night Off for Prudente Moraes - a sunset and a thief.

Louis is great at short stories with memorable characters and rich language. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

One of my favourite authors and my favourite book of short stories to date. A lot less 'marmite' than Captain Corelli's Mandolin, and I was satisfied with every story (which is pretty rare with short stories??) bar one.

I will forever recommend de Bernières

F•••ing brilliant. I almost forgive Louis for Captain Corelli's Mandolin after this. Hilarious.

2.5
Pretty meh. Writing felt a bit juvenile sometimes. Labels was a great story though

Quirky

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