Customer Reviews

Jigs and Reels

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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 (terryms2001@yahoo.com)

I have to admit, I am usually disappointed in short stories. I really like to sit down and relax with a book and I sometimes feel cheated with short stories. This book is not like that! Harris is a fabulous writer and each story is coupled with a little blurb about where she got the idea for the tale. This is the perfect book for anyone like me who normally doesn't like to read short stories and I promise you, like me, you'll go in search of another collection that will make you feel like this one did!

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

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.

In Jig and Reels, author Joanne Harris (most famous for her magical realism novel Chocolat) treats her readers to a selection of twenty-two stories, only one previously published. Some, such as the playfully defiant "Faith and Hope Go Shopping" are surprisingly realistic while others embrace Harris's trademark fascination with fairy-tale lore and magic realism. "Gastronomicon" unfolds as a young wife decides to experiment with recipes near the end of the ancient cookbook given to her by her mysterious mother-in-law. "Ugly Sister" and "The Little Mermaid" re-tell fairy tales in a more modern, more twisted way. "Class of 1981" explores, as Harris says, "what happens when the magic runs out . . ." Some stories are little more than conceits - in the final story "Eau de Toilette" we meet a parfumier of another time who just happens to be someone famous. This uneven collection remains an exhilarating read, mostly because Harris seems prepared to try anything, to slyly poke fun at expectations and cultural traditions.

I wish that Harris had not chosen to preface each story with a short explanation of why she wrote it; it takes the magic out of the illusion. Once the reader gets into these stories, however, he'll find them witty and much more vibrant than the bland introductions. Even those stories which cry out for greater development, or a less-than-rushed ending, will charm readers with their originality.

Great book and it was in great condition. As for the content, well, Joanne Harris rarely disappoints and this collection of short stories is no exception. Ms. Harris has put together a variety of stories that leaves you feeling satisfied, curious, disgruntled, worried - basically, totally involved in the lives of the characters you've come to know all to briefly in their few pages. Yet each story is wrapped up nicely. She pulls you into magical places and leaves you wanting more...at least I did. I'd love to have had another dozen stories to read.

In this collection of 22 short stories and vignettes, Joanne Harris gives us insights into some strange stories and some strange people. Not all are strange, but those that aren't are at least out of the ordinary. Most will not give you nightmares or make the reader uneasy. Well, except . . .

"Waiting for Gandalf" may be a bit predictable, but maybe that's the problem. In "Fish" it seems like the newly married couple are getting what they deserve. The characters in "The Little Mermaid" are more than bizarre, but it's easy to be sympathetic to some. The most positive story is "Faith and Hope Go Shopping," whose elderly characters are delightful.

This collection is a quick read and very different from the usual run of short stories. Harris has a talent for making the bizarre seem almost ordinary.

The stories in this book cover a wide range of subjects and styles, as others have noted. But all -- both the realistic and the magical stories -- are written with a magic touch. Some are darkly funny, some just plain dark, some are quirky, and some are sweet. All of them speak to the soul in some way.

Here are just a few examples: two women from a nursing home help each other bust out to go shopping; the actress who perennially plays an ugly stepsister (and comes to inhabit the role) explains why the stepsisters get a bum rap; a man undergoes a transformation while eating a meal in Naples; a class reunion of witches goes funnily awry, yet does not look that different from any other class reunion; a woman dares to try recipes from an old cookbook.

I enjoyed every story immensely, even if the transition from one to another was sometimes jolting. That jolt was actually part of the fun! And I did enjoy Ms. Harris's little quotes at the beginning of each story telling us what inspired her to write it. I'm always interested in how people come up with ideas for stories.

If you'd like a really fun collection of stories that will tickle your brain just a little as well as your funny bone, pick this one up!

Like most short story collections, the individual stories vary in length and quality. It is hard to categorize the stories as they cover a range of topics and human emotions. Some deal with the supernatural and some with people's desires. The author notes that she finds it hard to write short stories. I have personally found that writing short stories is easy, but finding editors to publish them is extremely hard. Perhaps that is why the author has published them as a collection. Some are longer, complete stories; and some seem to be more in the category of short scenes.

I particularly liked the man contemplating suicide who decided to indulge himself in things he would have never otherwise have done, e.g., two leather-clad blondes in a parked vehicle. And then their is the story about the ugly sister, and her feelings about Cinderella. There is the woman trying to use an ancient cookbook who obtains some very, very strange results. There is the class reunion, but a class from a rather strange school.

Overall, the author is very creative, and has let her mind wander in some strange directions. But that makes for a collection of good stories.

Jigs and Reels starts out strong, with five, five-star reads out of the first ten stories: a high school reunion...of witches, endearing elderly escapees, Cinderella's sister side of the story, a fearsome free spirit and a wrongly accused man. But the rest rang from science fiction to weird to somewhere in between: number mania, an obsessed gamer, disabled swimmers, "Every Tuesday's Freak Day at the Body in Question;" and a writer encounters the castoffs characters of his never finished stories. Those who like the unusual, will probably love this collection. Best feature: the author provides a brief intro to each story telling how, when, where, or why the idea for it came about. Mainstream readers may prefer: New Sudden Fiction edited by Robert Shapard and James Thomas or Runaway by Alice Munro. Strange short story fans might also like: Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami.