Agnes Owens: The Complete Novellas

Agnes Owens’ novellas are finally collected in the one place – and a good thing too, because they’re brilliant. The novella is an odd form: it’s usually about 50 to 150 pages, although it’s hard to separate either end of that scale from short stories or novels. Nonetheless, it’s a form that isn’t often seen – because it’s highly uncommercial. In a way, this is a recommendation of the book, because rather than convert these novellas into short stories or novels, Agnes Owens must have preferred to leave them as they were. This indicates that they are exactly the length their stories demanded to be, and it’s true: there’s a structural integrity to these tales that is rarely seen anywhere else. It helps, of course, that Owens is very talented. Owens has long held the title of best-neglected author in Scotland, and you’d hope that this collection would change that. Of the stories collected here, a favourite is A Working Mother, but picking one is unfair – they’re all great. If you haven’t experienced Owens’ apparently simple, but actually complicated prose, and her dark (and often extremely dark) humour, then the release of this collection may be your cue. [Nat Smith]