Jigs & Reels : Stories

Rating:
Summary: SHORT STORIES - PUNGENT AND PROVOCATIVE
Review:
British author Joanne Harris displayed a wicked way with a pen and a finely tuned inventiveness with her first novel "Chocolat." She's evidenced those traits since in such delicious reads as "Holy Fools" and "Five Quarters of the Orange." If anything those qualities are even more finely honed in this, her first short story collection.

Twenty-two stories, some perhaps more aptly described as vignettes, run the gamut of human emotions. They're dark, which won't surprise Harris fans, and they're also amusing.

Consider "Faith and Hope Go Shopping," the story of two determined ladies in an old people's home. It seems that monotony is becoming a bit much for this pair. After all, Monday is always rice pudding, and while concern for their teeth is appreciated, Faith can also think of some things one doesn't have to chew - oysters, creme brulee, foie gras. One day it all is just too predictable, so the friends break out and go to London in search of a copy of Lolita and a pair of Jimmy Choos.

Harris's retelling of the Cinderella story from the viewpoint of one of the Ugly Sisters is a treasure. Little could we have imagined what this poor woman has had to endure. Apparently it's even more devastating at Christmas time when she appears in plays and is hissed, booed, and "spat at by shrieking, sticky children with ice cream all over their faces." She's had quite enough of that, to say nothing of having to put up with Her Smugness (aka Cinderella who always wore designer rags).

Glad to say that there's also a happy ending for those not blessed with movie star features. Where this Ugly Sister finds hers is quite a surprise.

In "Gastronomicon" Harris returns to familiar turf - cuisine. Married to Ernest, our narrator is gifted with the family cookbook by his definitely strange mother. It's not just any cookbook, mind you, but one that holds very dark secrets and recipes that produce frightening results.

"Jigs & Reels" enchants with every page.

- Gail Cooke





Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully strange and strangely wonderful
Review: Joanne Harris, author of CHOCOLAT, BLACKBERRY WINE and FIVE QUARTERS OF THE ORANGE, cooks up a surprise for her many fans in this anthology: Not only can she write short stories, she can also display an amazing range. These pieces are completely unlike her dreamily delicious food-oriented novels, some dipping into human nature's dark and secretive aspects. In her foreword, Harris muses on how delightful it is to find short stories back in vogue. Her anthology should help keep them in style.

JIGS & REELS begins with the irresistible "Faith and Hope Go Shopping," in which two residents in a nursing home escape into the outside world to seek their hearts' desires. But just as the reader settles comfortably in after that heartwarmingly adventurous yarn, she encounters the polar opposite in "The G-SUS Gene," a scathing science fiction yarn about free will and religion, which left me pondering, "Did she mean...? Or was it...?" In the author's foreword, she confides that short stories stick with her; I can guarantee I'll be pondering "The G-SUS Gene" for quite some time.

Harris specializes in a good twist in the tale; some are more of a surprise than others. In "Hello, Goodbye" a gossip columnist's disturbing take on an ultrafashionable funeral culminates with an expected but ironic and tragic twist. I could never have predicted the ending of "Waiting for Gandalf," in which a group's long-running role-playing game goes awry when cynical newcomers join in. And I adored the surreal kink in the plot of the honeymoon saga "Fish."

Harris's characters, such as the plump, bald vampire (virgins would never look at this leech twice) in "Never Give A Sucker . . ." are wonderfully strange and strangely wonderful. A loner receives an amazing gift, one with the potential to keep on giving, from "Tea With the Birds" enigmatic Mr. Tamaoki. We even get a peek into the other side of the Cinderella tale from "The Ugly Sister." The stars of "Auto-da-fe" and "Free Spirit" are terrifying characters. And speaking of characters --- what becomes of the ones writers abandon? Harris gives us the answer in the Twilight Zone-ish "Last Train to Dogville."

I admire Harris for demonstrating her considerable skill in an amazing variety of genres, which include horror stories, fractured fairy tales, a hilarious class reunion of witches, a chilling version of THE LITTLE MERMAID, offbeat love stories, and more. However, a few of the pieces, such as "Any Girl Can Be a CandyKiss Girl!" and "A Place in the Sun," seem to be not quite stories with plots, but more on the order of scathing fictional commentary on our preoccupation with beauty and youth. Reading these is like being served only exotic appetizers when you're expecting a hearty rib-sticking meal --- interesting but not very satisfying.

Although a bit more development would have boosted considerably the quality of a handful of pieces, I was enthralled with a majority of the tales. As a fan of Harris's dreamy novels, I enjoyed being awakened to her stunning range as a storyteller and look forward to reading more of her short stories.

--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon ([e-mail])

Rating:
Summary: Jigs and Reels
Review: The first story in the book was excellent, a touching, funny look at old age. I wanted it to go on into a full length novel. Some of the other stories were dark. I enjoyed the ones with a science fiction flavor less than the others, but was amazed at the range of styles Ms. Harris covered. The whole book was extremely well written, drawing the reader on to the next tale. I am looking forward to future books by Joanne Harris.