Form is to the fore in this highly structured collection of very short fiction from Scottish writer and publisher James Robertson. Every day of 2013 he wrote a 365-word piece and these are currently being published daily on the Five Dials website. Brought between covers, the concept initially dominates: the almanac nature of the book invites you to read stories for their dates. What’s your birthday story like? Today’s story? Is there a story for February 29th? (No, or it would have been 366 Stories). The pieces themselves soon begin to snag your attention – they’re good, and also refreshing in their variety of form and subject. Almost sonnet-like, the content chafes against the restrictions of length, yet such a brief burst of words can please with its neatness. Here are scenes from contemporary life, dreams recounted, rants of displeasure, stories sourced from ballads, Scots dialect hard by quieter English prose, ghost tales, memories. The tumult of voices is a masterclass in the ventriloquism of fiction. Overall, there’s a powerful sense of a fertile mind and a great generosity of ideas.
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