Basque: Love Stories – rules are there to be broken

Subversive and exhilarating stories

‘HJ Furl’s twenty-one short stories in Basque are a special kind of treat. Her characters are slightly unhinged. Their lives are small, circumscribed, and desperate: Covid has tipped many of them over the edge. Yet they all carry with them a common look and feel exuberant, humorously exaggerated, sardonic, bathetic, spiced with a hopeless eroticism. What I like best about her writing is its insinuating quality: her characters’ pretensions exist to be relentlessly undermined. It’s a galvanising and shocking ride.’

Some for 50 Shades fans, though not all

‘A series of well-told short stories which follow the changes, or not, in attitudes to women over the centuries. A harsh start with the witch trials as background, up to the modern-day. Well written, with plenty of imaginative plots.’

Stories that capture the imagination

‘An entertaining collection of short stories. Furl’s character portrayals and interesting plotlines give them a good level of depth.’

Beautifully written stories that connect with your heart

‘HJ does an amazing job bringing the characters to life. They feel real and draw you into their stories as you connect with their lives and experience how they see the world.’

*****

‘Shall we go inside?’
‘’Why not, rules are meant to be broken, aren’t they?’

Basque
Love Stories