I love Tessa Hadley. Recently, I did a bit of research into what people were saying about her as a writer. It seems others have noticed that while prose is high-quality, classic, and musical, her topics are quite ordinary. It’s this juxtaposition that’s so very appealing and striking.
In this collection you have an ill-advised marriage, a disappointing sexual encounter, a family photo: moments that are quite everyday and domestic. The intelligent prose elevates these scenes and Hadley absolutely cuts to the heart of the matter. Short stories can be difficult to read and write, but when you get them absolutely spot-on, they are really amazing to read.
There was one critic who described her prose as very similar to classic 19th century writers. I think there is something interesting about the combination of these humdrum settings and her intelligent, elevated prose.
This is a really good collection. I’ve read a couple of her short story collections and they all just seem to hang together with no twee overarching theme. It’s not an obvious set of stories and narratives to put together but there’s real life, vibrancy, and quiet intensity here.
One word: eloquent.
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