After a reading a couple of novels in succession with complicated plots, I was delighted that this collection of short stories floated to the front of my bookshelf and I could dip into it in bursts. That’s not to say that some of the stories didn’t leave a deep impression on me, short as they are.

I have visited Florida several times but didn’t see the Florida depicted here. The author paints a dark, sweltering, edgy atmosphere. At the heart of many of the stories is a feeling of lives sinking into one swamp or another. In the more unnerving of them, it is children who are brought to the brink of neglect and danger. Plenty of insight into motherhood, all of which I enjoyed very much.

Some lovely writing. To give a flavour of its calibre, memorable images include:

‘… my children were endlessly fascinating, two petri dishes growing human cultures.…’

‘Mostly, however, I see the mothers I know in glimpses, bent like shepherdess crooks, scanning the floor for tiny Legos or half-chewed grapes or the people they once were, slumped in the corners.’

‘I thought of the waves of sleep rushing through their brains, washing out the tiny unimportant flotsam of today so that tomorrow’s heavier truths could wash in.’

‘She’d never met a child with beady eyes before. Beadiness arrives after long slow ekes of disappointment, usually in middle age.’

Highly recommended.

For those who are unfamiliar of the landscape and society of Florida, Lauren Groff's collection of stories is enticing and varied. Ranging from the usual depictions of alligators, to the atypical descriptions of those who just want to get away, Groff attempts to show the various characters found in the sweltering heat and stormy climes of southern USA.

I particularly enjoyed the story of the mother who takes her two young sons to France to escape the tropical summers and her restless life. It is detailed and you get a sense of her edginess throughout, worried that something may happen to her children or to have an unpleasant encounter with their overbearing landlord.

My only gripe would be that because each story is not clearly signposted, the flow of the stories become confusing and it takes a minute to realise you've begun a whole new chapter. It is a bit jarring, so shorter stories became completely unmemorable as a result. However, it is a pleasant read overall, I enjoyed her writing style.