A Mixed Bag - Agnes McIntyre - ★★★.½

AUTHOR: Agnes McIntyre

GENRE: Short Story Collection

PUBLICATION DATE: March 18, 2024

RATING: 3.55 stars.

In a Nutshell: A short story collection, containing a ‘mixed bag’ of relatable characters and realistic emotions. Distinct plots that held my interest but somehow didn’t hit the higher level of satisfaction. A good option for those who prefer true-to-life character-oriented narratives.

This collection contains sixteen stories from sixteen distinct characters in sixteen distinct situations. The book takes the title of “mixed bag” seriously because none of the story situations or the characters are similar to any of the others. I found this quite interesting because each story felt unique and there was no déjà vu as I progressed through the collection.

The book doesn’t have an author's note, but the blurb details the collection as revealing “the potential for good in us all.” Every main character in these stories is facing a complex period, either due to internal or external factors. As each of us responds differently to challenges, so do these characters react in varying ways to the curveballs thrown at them. The resultant story set thus offers an eclectic study of human behaviour through their differing emotions and actions.

Most of the stories are in first person. This creates a certain jadedness after some time, even though the plots are sharp and the narrators range in age as well as gender. While I don’t have a preference between first and third (and even second) person POVs, a story collection with continuous first-person narrations soon begins blending into each other despite the author’s best efforts.

The stories are heavily focussed on the “present time” of the narration. So we get good character sketches, scenic descriptions, emotions and everything else needed in a short story package, but this is restricted to the events unfurling in front of us. Many of the stories required a greater back explanation such as the background of the characters or some past events that led to present decisions. But these aren’t even mentioned in passing. As such, these stories left me with questions, not because the endings were abrupt (they weren’t!) but because I didn’t understand why the characters took that call. It would have been easier to be invested in the characters had I known not just the whats of their actions but also the whys.

There are beautiful colour photographs introducing each new story – these are a treat for the eyes. (Except if you are reading on your Kindle e-reader with its boring B&W rendition of pics – sigh…)

As always, I rated the stories individually. Most of the stories consistently hit the 3.5 star mark, which means that I liked them but they didn’t blow me away. Some stories came very close to “Amazing!”, but the endings left me feeling like they had missed out on some essential fill-ins. The below are my top favourites from this collection:

🎨 Then There's Nora: Some wealthy codgers learn something about humankind in this story. The premise isn't that unusual but the execution is fun. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

🎨 The Peacock Hat: Loved the historical setting and the emotions in this one. I would have loved even more background info on the narrator, but even as is, it's a gripping story. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

🎨 Uncle Brian: Not often that you'd see such a smart uncle in fiction. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

🎨 Cleopatra and the Duke: The start of this one was a little shaky, but I love the way it ended. The title didn’t give me any hint of what the content could be, so that was another surprise. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

All in all, this is a good option for short story readers who enjoy character-oriented tales tackling a multitude of human responses in realistic situations. The range of characters and plots adds to the appeal of this indie collection. The result might have been something of ‘a mixed bag’ for me but the overall scale of satisfaction still tilts on the positive side.

3.55 stars, based on the average of my ratings for each tale.

My thanks to author Agnes McIntyre for providing me with a complimentary copy of “A Mixed Bag”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.