This collection of ten short stories by Tessa Hadley is a real gem. There's nothing flash, nothing dramatic, nothing out of the ordinary in this collection. But the stories shine, with a quiet luminescence that draws you in. The distinguishing characteristic of the stories and their characters is their ordinariness. It is their capacity to show us that underneath day-to-day lives there are deep currents; desire, longing, even lust, just below the surface, threatening to break through in an unguarded moment. Sunstroke is a warm and endearing collection; one which gets under your skin. These are characters who are looking for something more, but not always finding it.

The main characters are female, from adolescents through to mature women. They share confidences, gossip, yearn for something more than they've experienced so far. They long for the truth, but that's usually something that eludes them. In Mother's Son, a middle aged woman is torn between loyalty to her son and despair at her fading attractiveness. Perhaps she has had her last lover. Buckets of Blood is a coming of age story. A teenage girl loses her innocence vicariously. An observer of her older sister's life, she finds herself unable to maintain the virtuous role she has taken on. Her affection for her sister is stronger. This story captures the claustrophobia of adolescence in a working class home of too many children. In this context "a surreptitious selfishness was necessary for survival." So true.

Many of the stories reach back to the seventies – hippie-ish girls in gypsy skirts with wild hair and duffel coats. Hadley is obviously a woman of a particular age. In the case of these protagonists, the years have dulled their political idealism, but emotionally they remain raw and vulnerable. The title story Sunstroke is compelling and engrossing. Two women, with their young children, are whiling away the day, lying in the sun, finding excuses to avoid making dinner for their husbands and children. As they share confidences, something Hadley's women are wont to do, it becomes apparent that one has a lover, at least in fantasy. When the phantom lover arrives on her doorstep there's an unexpected turn of events, and it seems that she's not the only one dreaming of something more. 

Hadley charts the course of relationships: flirtation, infatuation, commitment, resignation and separation. A favoured theme is the smouldering desire that lies dormant for years, perhaps decades, but might be sparked into life by a chance encounter. In Phosphorescence, 13 year old Graham is aware of the attentions of the much older Claudia; the brushing of fingers, a thigh pressed against his. Twenty five years later Claudia is a grandmother. The two meet by coincidence, and this time Graham becomes the pursuer. Caro in The Enemy is attracted to Keith, who was formerly married to Caro's sister. In this story, Keith is staying with Caro, and, decades later, the old tension is still there. In The Surrogate, Twenty year old Carla has a brief fling with Dave, a working class substitute for Patrick, the university lecturer she dreams of. As the story unfolds, Patrick declares his love for Carla, and the two end up happily married. But although the affair with Dave has long ended, it lingers on. On a whim, Carla checks the phone book. It would take the merest sighting across a crowded room, and this lost relationship would flare into life.

Hadley is an established and assured writer. Several of these stories have appeared in the New Yorker or in other publications. (The New Yorker recently published another Hadley gem "Married Love"). These are captivating stories, with a real feeling for the characters and the awkward situations they find themselves in. Hadley is has a strong sense of the immediate environment; she provides vivid descriptions of the weather, the sky, riversides, the beach. But it is her characters that stay with you. These are real people. Their lives may seem superficially comfortable, but they are not uncomplicated. Hadley tells their stories with understatement and discretion. There is a real sense of connection with the characters, and of empathy for their lives. This is a strongly recommended and rewarding collection.

© 2007 Tony O'Brien

Tony O'Brien is a short story writer and lecturer in mental health nursing at the University of Auckland, New Zealand: a.obrien@auckland.ac.nz.

Categories: Fiction