Were we awake: ARC review (late)

Title: Were we awake

Author: Lorna Brown (copy provided by the Author)

Genre: Short Stories, General Fiction

# of pages: 215

Published on: 20^th Nov. 2019

My Rating: 4.5 stars

“Were we awake” is a collection of 13 short but emotive stories – tales of courage, guilt, love and survival.

The book takes the reader on a passionate journey from picturesque Ireland to the busy suburbs in the US.

Alby is missing his best friend and may not see him, again. Hazel’s life changes when she encounters the dark truth about her family. A mother wrapped in remorse when she’s involved in a hit-and-run of a teenager. When Eva goes on holiday with her family comes back with a deep scar from the near-miss accidents. These are just a few of the plot lines in the book.

These stories depict the lives of people, their dreams, their choices and how their amalgamation brings out different result in lives.

Each of the narratives has its concepts, but the characters take the limelight. A few of the tales are open-ended, giving the reader the pleasure of relishing in the awe of the story. The fundamental theme is around people and their nature.

Few of the stories are shorter than others. The characters are engaged and have huge depth. The author’s writing skills are terrific.

This is my first book by the author and I have fallen in love with her writing style. I grew so used to reading novels I forgot about the short story segment. And books like this are a rarity. It is a refreshing read. Her writing evokes emotions and you can picture the story as a bystander. I am still mystified by the book and it has moved into my list of re-reads (yes; I am creating the list of re-reads).