Tessa Hadley

We are in the 1960s, and are introduced to Phyl, a middle class housewife with a husband in the Foreign Office and two children. The family is prosperous and contented. Then Nick, the son of old friends comes for a meal, and everything changes. I was immediately immersed in this story, where first one twist, then another interposed itself in the narrative. Extraordinary as these twists were, the sixties setting gave them the ring of authenticity, and I had little difficulty in being totally sucked into the worlds which Phyl and her various connections inhabited. I found it a real page-turner.… (mere)

4.5⭐

After the Funeral and Other Stories by Tessa Hadley is a remarkable collection of short stories that examines everyday relationships both in their simplicity and in their complexity. Revolving around themes of family, friendship, marriage and relationships, these stories examine human behavior and how one copes with shifting dynamics in close relationships impacting their priorities, self-perception and worldview.

The author writes with insight, compassion and great emotional depth. After the Funeral (4.5) follows nine-year-old Charlotte in the years following her father’s demise wherein she takes it upon herself to hold her family together. In Dido’s Lament (5), a chance meeting between former spouses triggers moments of fond memories, regrets and hidden resentments. After their mother is hospitalized after a fall, three sisters return to their childhood home triggering a cascade of memories in The Bunty Club.(4)

On the day of her mother’s wedding to a much younger man, a surprising series of events reveals a more complicated dynamic between the mother, her husband-to-be and her adult daughter in My Mother’s Wedding (4.5). Funny Little Snake(5) revolves around the complicated relationship between a recently married young woman and her stepdaughter. In Men(4), two estranged sisters, see each for the first time in fifteen years but find that some distances are too hard to traverse.

In Cecilia Awakened(5) a perceptive teenager learns a life lesson when she begins to see her family members and herself as distinct individuals with their own set of flaws and shortcomings vis a vis what they project to the outside world and each other, while on vacation.Old Friends (5) follows an affair between a married woman and her husband’s close friend and how it is impacted by a shocking tragedy. In Children at Chess(5), a middle-aged man is shaken when learns of his older sister’s ill health and impending demise.

A middle-aged woman meets a woman who had a scandalous connection to her late father, dredging up painful memories in The Other One (4). In Mia(4), a young woman meets an affluent, seemingly happy woman on a private catering gig but soon realizes that having everything might not necessarily ensure happiness. Set during the pandemic, a middle-aged woman caring for her elderly mother finds herself drawn to her elderly neighbor’s caregiver in Coda(4).

The stories vary in length, setting and tone. Though the writing is crisp with no excesses, the characters are exceptionally well-fleshed out and the author is diligent in her attention to detail while establishing the setting for each of the stories. Overall, I found this collection to be a through-provoking read that I would not hesitate to recommend to those who enjoy character-driven short stories. This is my first time reading this author and I look forward to exploring more of Tessa Hadley’s work.

Many thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and NetGalley for the digital review copy and the publisher for the gifted copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.… (mere)