Considering this slim volume is all of Jonathan Coe’s collected short stories – a mighty three stories and one nonfiction essay! – I’d say he’s far from smitten with the form. And I’d also say that that’s reflective of the quality too as none of them are that good unfortunately.
Ivy and Her Nonsense is the longest piece here. A story of a couple of kids at Christmas with their family. There’s something about a murder trial and the usual family relationships stuff – nothing great, though the ghostly element was kinda interesting.
9th and 13th is the dullest story here, about a piano player who moons over what might’ve been with a woman he encounters one day.
VO (“Version Originale”), my favourite of the three stories, is about a film critic at a French B-movie horror film festival who finds out a woman he had an affair with years ago made a film about him. The best part, that actually made me laugh, was the French PG Wodehouse translator translating wannabe-Tarantino-esque cuss-laden dialogue in the style of Wodehouse’s plummy drawl.
Diary of an Obsession is the nonfiction essay about Coe’s lifelong fascination with the 1970 Billy Wilder film The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. It’s quite dull and doesn’t amount to much more than the film means a lot to Coe for rando reasons. It’s interesting to note though that Coe’s characters in his novels What a Carve Up! and Number 11 who are obsessed with unusual films stems from his own personality.
I really enjoy Jonathan Coe’s writing but there’s a reason he’s not a prolific short story writer and I’d recommend his novels instead, particularly Number 11 – 9th and 13th is just for curious fans.
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