A Season to Remember

by Sheila O'Flanagan

[Leah]

Sheila O’Flanagan is a Chick Lit staple, having released 16 novels and two short story collections. So when her third short story collection, A Season To Remember, was released last year I was eager to read it although it’s taken me a while to actually read the novel. Because of its short story nature, I managed to read it over a few weeks, one story at a time, finally finishing it up just recently. Now I must admit, I’ve never reviewed a short story novel before. And I have no idea how I’m meant to do it. (I know, I’m rubbish, right?)

All of the short stories featured in A Season To Remember have one thing in common: They all take place at the Sugar Loaf Lodge, a luxurious hotel in Ireland. Which, by the way, sounds like one of the most magical and enjoyable hotels, ever. Each of the people we meet are at the Sugar Loaf for various reasons over the festive period – meeting their lovers, escaping familial duties, splurging out, or in the case of the Sugar Loaf Lodge’s owners, just trying to keep your hotel running in the midst of an economical crisis.

There’s a bit of something for everyone in the novel and there are stories I preferred over others for sure, whereas some just plain felt unfinished. That’s the trouble with short stories – they can seem unfinished and that’s definitely the case with the recurring characters from O’Flanagan’s earlier novel Anyone But Him, featuring Jin, Cora and Andie. They make an appearance in another of O’Flanagan’s short story collections (Destinations, if I remember correctly) and they’re back again in A Season To Remember, but it’s not really necessary. I mean, nothing happens during their little story, nothing that could further their previous story, it’s as if they’re there for the sake of it than any real reason. For me, that was the most disappointing short story but thankfully that’s the only disappointing one.

There are about 10 different stories in the book, and one that touched me in particular was the one about Louisa. You’ll have to read it to know about it and although it’s not necessarily a straight-forward tale, it’s one of my favourites. In fact, I’d have loved for it to have been even longer! Overall, I found A Season To Remember to be a quick, warm read. I’m not necessarily sure how memorable it was, but there are one or two stories that will stick with me, and I definitely think O’Flanagan could expand the Sugar Loaf Lodge hotel into a bigger novel if the need ever arised. Though with a proper plot I mean, not numerous short stories! O’Flanagan is an accomplished short story writer (and I do think it’s harder than it may seem to write a short story!) and this is another nice collection.