A collection of 19 stories probing darker fantasies of power, control and revenge and flawed, elusive love, examining the instinct to make rivals but also the urge to reach out to others. Jo Mazelis's first short fiction collection, Diving Girls was shortlisted for the Book of the Year Award and the Commonwealth Writers' Award.

Casgliad o 19 o straeon sy'n edrych ar ffantasïau tywyll yn ymwneud â phŵer, rheolaeth, dial, a chariad wedi'i wyrdroi, yn ogystal â'r reddf i fod yn gystadleuol mewn gwrthgyferbyniad a'r chwant am feithrin perthynas glos gydag eraill. Cafodd casgliad cyntaf yr awdures, sef Diving Girls, ei roi ar restr fer Gwobr Llyfr y Flwyddyn ac ar restr fer y Commonwealth Writers' Award.

This is a highly engaging collection of short stories from this very talented writer, with an interesting and lively range of subject matter. She writes about human love, rejection and sorrow extraordinarily well throughout her prose, through the subtle interaction between her characters, as in ‘And you Read your Emily Dickinson’, a circular story of the giving and receiving of love and support in times of distress.

The stories are full of astute observation on family life. Absence and events that do not quite happen are used skilfully to create tension, for example, in ‘She Speaks Kolsch’: ‘he wonders why he ever imagined for one second that anything could have happened between them’, the story about a curious collection of characters in a late night bar.

Mazelis seems to be able to portray the many sides of the human character in one story alone through very clever character interaction, which she does particularly well in ‘The Player’, a story of jealousy and traps, with a kind of surreal hilarity that has dark undertones.

Each of these stories gives the reader a feeling that they have entered the world of the characters portrayed, a world they leave with a greater understanding. A very well crafted and interesting collection of stories from a very talented writer.

Clare Maynard

It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgement should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council.

Gellir defnyddio’r adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatad Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru.