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Review for 'It Happened In Clissold Park' by Hugh Todd

This is the first book I have read by this author but it most definitely will not be my last and I am looking forward to reading more of his books!

An beautiful and eclectic collection of 12 short stories filled with stories and adventures from the North London community all set around Clissold park in London and set over the space of a year. As I always do with books of short stories or poems I will rate them individually and then give an overall rating at the end. These are the stories that are included in order, a short description of what they are about and my rating:

January - An Audience Of One: This brilliant book starts with a story of Lloyd who is one of the park keepers of Clissold Park. Lloyd is on shift one day when he discovers a pair of ice skates hiding in the grass. When he discovers the owner he is fascinated by their skills on the ice. We also meet other members of the community in this story Deji who works in the local KFC and Rob who is the other park keeper. 4/5

February - Romeo & Juliet And Ali: In this story we meet Josh (Romeo), Essen (Juliet) and Ali the owner of the Arsenal Mini Market. Josh has a crush on Essen and gets some tips from Ali on how to woe her. Loved the little twist at the end!! We also get to see our friendly park ranger again in this story. 4/5

March - One In 300,000,000: In this story we meet Keith again, Keith and his dog Poppy had an accident in the pond in January. Keith had been diagnosed with leukaemia which was found in routine blood tests after his accident but he is finally going to receive treatment in the form of bone marrow donated by Joseph who is flying over from Boston. Keith decides to take Poppy for a walk before his appointment but a series of extremely unfortunate events happen with extremely low probabilities. I loved all the different probabilities scattered through this story although it is quite sad. We also meet Keith's wife Margaret, Rob the park ranger, Astrid and her dog Eric. 5/5

April - A View To Die For: A sweet and unique story of the two horse chestnut trees named Jack and Frieda that have been there for over 200 years. We learn of their bond and how greedy Charlie Bullock who runs Watsons Estate Agents wants Terry the tree assassin to take them down as they are blocking the views from The Vistas that he is determined to sell. A sweet, sad short story of heartbreak, loss and revenge. 5/5

May - The Hunter: A story of how Astrid's dog Eric changed café owner Tony's life and how The Forager's Café came to be. We also meet Margaret and Lloyd shortly. 4/5

June - The Clissold Cowgirl: We meet Abimbola also known as Abi who helps Mick at the stables taking care of her favourite horse Hope. One day Abi gets some heart-breaking news but when Mick and Abi come to an agreement it later leads to the capture of the Moped Gang who have been terrorising Clissold and also stole Abi's brothers' moped. We also get to meet Abi's parents, Janet who looks after the reindeers in the park as well as meeting up again with Abi's brother Deji again, Ali and our park keeper Lloyd. 5/5

July - The Mound: Ali has not been coping with the weather very well and things get stranger when a mysterious and gravity defying mound appears in Clissold Park. Everybody seems to be in much better spirits with it except Ali. Things go from bad to worse when he spots Josh who he has not been happy with since discovering he was part of the Moped Gang. However, Ali's time does come and things start looking up for him. As well as meeting some of the regulars such as Lloyd , Josh, his daughter Essen, Mick and Rob, we also meet Kenroy the cabbie and Edith. 4/5

August - The Birthday Girl: This is one of my favourite stories. We meet Lizzy who has mapped all the memorial benches in the park and those that are not visited she gets flowers for on their birthdays. I thought this was such a sweet story and a beautiful idea. One of the things that I loved about this book is that it tells us about plaques that are written on the benches scattered around Clissold Park which I loved reading about and I thought it was a sweet and unique addition to all of the stories. 5/5

September - The Coin: In this story we get to learn a bit about Lord Clissold who owned Clissold House / Park and whose statue still stands there. When Janet is pulling up Japanese knotweed from the ground she discovers a coin that he shot at in 1779. Janet has no idea of the significance of the coin until 'Antiques Roadshow' comes to Clissold Park. We get to meet many of the characters who we have got to know through the stories again such as Rob, Lloyd, Deji, Tony, Astrid and Eric. 5/5

October - The Dead Party: This was definitely my favourite of all. It is Halloween and Rob is determined to keep his park free from trouble. He has made sure nobody can get in but what he doesn't consider is that there are those who are already there. When the ghosts of those who have memorial benches in the Park raise for a party Rob cannot believe what he is seeing!! Absolutely loved this one!! 5/5

November - The Ballistic Brothers: Soli and his brother Otis are kept inside for Bonfire night after their uncle had an accident with a firework when he was a child. However, when the sun rises the next day they go and discover what rockets and fireworks were let off by the leftovers in the Park. 3/5

December - Janet's Little Helper: Santiago becomes a regular visit to Janet's reindeers and she enjoys telling him all about them. However, when she gets a letter from Head Office she needs to get a plan in place but can she make it work? A sweet story to end this book. 4/5

An absolutely fantastic collection of intriguing, sweet, emotive and eye opening short stories!!! An absolutely huge success by this fantastic author whose incredible and emotive writing skills really brings the reader into his stories ensuring they feel what his characters are. I absolutely loved meeting all the different characters who lived and worked in and around Clissold Park and I would genuinely love to see more books written about them. It really was intriguing to get to know them all, where they worked, their hobbies, interests and so much more!! An absolutely amazing collection of short stories with an excellent range of situations, characters and narratives. My favourite three just have to be 'The Dead Party' 'One In 300,000,000', 'The Birthday Girl' . These stories include family, friendship, animals, adventures, community and much more! There is a great mix of stories so there is definitely something in there for everyone. The cover is eye catching and it was one of the things that drew me to the book. This book is ideal to be able to pick up and read a story during a break or while making a cuppa! I am definitely looking forward to picking more of Hugh's books up. The fact that these are short stories also allows you to pick it up and read a story at a time or read/listen to it in one sitting which is perfect for those who like to read multiple books at one time. Hugh has excellent writing skills and and I look forward to reading more of his work!

Grab your copy of 'It Happened In Clissold Park' and discover which stories you love!!!

Congratulations Hugh on a beautiful selection of stories and on yet another beautiful success!!!

Overall a fantastic selection of fun, sweet and unique short stories all set around a busy park in London

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I liked this group of connected short stories, one set each month from January to December, focusing on people associatedwith, working at, involved in a local park each one unusual, with a bit of strangeness, and inter connectivity. I usually avoid short stories but quite enjoyed this by the end.

Clissold Park is a large urban park loved by the local population and holding many secrets. Over the course of the year we meet many of the characters whose lives revolve around the park.
I am not a great lover of short stories but these interlink so well, it was almost like reading a novel. There is such a variety here but all built around believable and engaging characters. It's a lovely book.

Loved this book of interlinked short stories with recurring characters. Local knowledge only improved matters! An easy summer read.

This was a sweet collection of intertwined stories and I loved the interconnectedness. It was a very comforting read

This is different to my usual reads but I felt drawn to this book and the more I read the more I felt immersed into the world of the book and the rich stories of the characters.

A little all over the place but none the less a great collection of 12 stories set in my favourite city. Passed the time on the dull train journey to work. Will look out for more from the writer.

This series of 12 stories is as charming as it is all-over the place. It focuses on Clissold Park, a real park in London, and the people who work, play and visit there. The linked stories are mostly realistic, but there are a couple of urban fantasy moments.

The main flaw is the writing is a little bit wooden at times, and there is a lot of explaining straight to the reader. There is also a strange thing where pretty much every story has alcohol being drunk, but not one person sits around staring at their phone, or even makes a phone call. Minor, but odd.
Hugh Todd shows a lot of potential as an author of charming fiction, but could do with a little more showing and a little less telling.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-Arc ion exchange for an honest review.

The writing is assured and beguiling. The story unfolds in and around the magnificent Clissold Park in Stoke Newington, London. A place I know well. A haven of divinity, illuminated by diversity. An oasis of hope. The ensemble cast are characters of great subtlety and grace. Not all of them are alive. Some of them are not even human.
Told across the course of one year, the author introduces a group of disparate individuals linked by the park. In these pages the mundane minutes of every day life become magical and memorable and for some lives are irrevocably changed. There are some extraordinary set pieces - when two young boys defy their father, searching for the illicit, illegal perfume of spent fireworks - and the Hallowe'en party attended by almost one hundred ghosts, watched solely by a lonely park keeper - perceptive, thought-provoking and utterly compelling. A hauntingly beautiful book.

I really enjoyed this book a group of neighbors connected by the park.Told through short stories the flow the unique monthly stories the people in each story was really a wonderful read.#netgalley #troubadorbooks,

Very enjoyable .
Feels like a series of short stories, but all connected by the park, and each being told on a different month of the year.
Some were charming, some a bit strange, others not quite so pleasant.
The reappearance of characters felt like bumping into old friends.
Lovely little book that I read over a few days, taking it a month at a time between other things, and ìt was always a pleasure to go back to.

I received an ARC of this from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I needed a break from the typical novels that I read and when I came across this, I thought it would be perfect. I was right. This was such an easy, quick read. It’s a collection of stories, each chapter is a month of the year, featuring members of the community that surround Clissold Park. The stories vary from magical, quirky, tragic, surprising, and to the point. Even though a different character is featured in each story, they can be commonly seen throughout the collection.
I really enjoyed it and would have been more than happy to keep reading. Well done.

A hybrid novel/connected short story collection. This book follows twelve neighbors over the course of a year to paint a snapshot of a London neighborhood.