Short story collection review: Reality, Reality (2011) by Jackie Kay.

Today I am reviewing Jackie Kay's short story collection Reality, Reality. I absolutely loved reading this collection! It was funny, heartwarming, sad and at times confusing with the stories all offering something different. I read the first story 'Reality, Reality' and immediately I was confused. The writing was not bad but I found the character had an odd personality. I was a little unsure what was going on. However, most of the stories did not confuse me. I did get a little confused over what happened in 'The White Cot'. For me, I was reminded of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper' (1892). I found that Sam and Dionne's relationship was a little worrisome to me. I liked them together but I worried how it would end. I am glad that Jackie Kay took on a story in which I was unsure what to expect next. This short story though had something in common in several of the stories.

I found with a lot of the stories there were couples who were often comprised of two women. Now this is unsurprising as Jackie Kay is openly a lesbian. To me it was beautiful to see so many different stories of women loving women relationships. When reading books, having loving relationships that are LGBTQIA+ is a good thing so I am glad that Jackie Kay has thrown the spotlight on these relationships. The other thing I want to highlight is how the relationships are all unique and none come across as generalised or just another relationship comprised of two women. One relationship which stood out to me was in the short story 'Grace and Rose'. The two titular characters end up getting married on the island where they live. Hearing their thoughts of each other and their upcoming wedding was lovely as it showed how loving relationships can actually be. The again in 'Bread Bin', being in a relationship is questioned it seems. This was another favourite of the collection and I found it very funny.

On the other hand however, some of the short stories made me sad. This was especially the case when I read 'These are not my clothes'. My sadness was only furthered when I then read 'Mrs Vadnie Malene Sevlon' in which my suspicions were confirmed. Despite this, I was glad that Jackie Kay chose to mention these things because it is important to illustrate such issues.

Overall, the collection was well written and I found it engaging. Most of the time, I could not wait to read the next story because I found the one I had just finished very good. I am going to give Reality, Reality (2011) a 9.5/10.


Until next time,


Thomas (they/them).

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