Review of ‘Taking Liberties: A Short Story Anthology’ by Breakthrough Book Collective

An excellent collection of short stories about freedom from twelve authors. I was very impressed by how differently each author interpreted the topic and all of these literary offerings are well-written with thought-provoking ideas. There were perhaps three stories I didn’t really connect with, but I enjoyed all of the others. My favourites were ‘Human Error’ by Stephanie Bretherton, which has a sci-fi element; ‘Snuffr – Or How Britain Became A Nicer Place’ by Paul Waters which is dark and wickedly humorous; and ‘On the Brushes’ by Sue Clark which is quite gentle yet compelling. I like how the authors have all ‘taken liberties’ with the topic of freedom, which is very appropriate. The stories will get you thinking about the many kinds of freedom, why they are important and what happens when they are taken to extremes. Another great thing about the collection is how the stories are broadly contemporary fiction but some have a genre bias while others you might find on the ‘general fiction’ shelf. I’d recommend to anyone who wants variety in their reading and some new perspectives on life.

Taking Liberties anthology book cover showing tree silhouettes.

Thank you to Sue Clark for the copy. The book is available to buy now, published by Breakthrough Book Collective.

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