The newest addition to thedivine Long Story Shorts –and one that will neatlycomplete the S-H-O-Rcollection on your bookshelfwith the T on its spine – isanother example of Australia’sknockout talent when itcomes to short stories. Leah Swann’sinvolving tales are perfect little parcels ofhumanity: there is family, both new and old,there is life and death, pain and love,happiness – and such wrenching heartbreakI had to put the book down for a moment tohook myself back to reality.

Behind another stylish Dean Gorissen coverfor the series (and of course you should notjudge books by their covers, but I shamelesslydo) there are seven short stories and thenovella ‘Silver Hands’, sitting neatly in themiddle. In the novella, Rachel is struck bythe loss of both her husband and the movementin her arms, which, as a sculptor and amother, she sees as her entire world. Withinin her past lies the origin of both problems,and it needs to be confronted to help her; inthe meantime you feel Rachel as close to youas a friend.

The collection is sometimes dark, butremains full of hope, and the saddest storiesare still touched with quirks: a dash of humour,the addition of an unexpected animal,or something as beautifully simple andevocative as the texture and taste of marmalade.Australia itself is as much a character asanyone else – all trees and dirt, drought andcreeks, fairy penguins and the Belgrave/Lilydaletrain line. Leah Swann makes every taleas realistic as a memory: I would re-read ‘TheSingles Club’ for its thrill of warm weatherand new love, or ‘Slow to Learn’ for a stretchinto the past. One little girl is called ‘clear asa diamond’ and, ultimately, Swann’s writingis exactly that.

Fiona Hardy is from Readings Carlton.