Shout Her Lovely Name Looks at the Complexity of Family Relationships

I think the short story genre was invented for the busy working mother. I’ve always been an avid reader, but sleep deprivation and exhaustion took their toll during my son’s early years. I struggled to be able to follow the plot of an actual novel, but short stories were the perfect escape.

If you’re looking for an engrossing, but not time consuming read, Shout Her Lovely Name by Natalie Serber is the perfect choice. Serber’s debut is presented as a collection of short stories dealing with family relationships.

What’s interesting about Shout Her Lovely Name is that many of the stories involve the same family, so they are loosely connected in a way. Ruby, an ambitious college student, finds herself unexpectedly pregnant in the 1970s. She becomes a single mother to Nora, after her boyfriend Marco decides he’s not ready to be a father. Ruby eventually becomes a teacher, dating and socializing with a wide range of men despite her cautious daughter’s objections.

My favorite story in Shout Her Lovely Name was Free to a Good Home, in which Ruby goes into labor and Marco tries to convince her to put their daughter up for adoption. It’s a sensitive look at the effects of an unplanned pregnancy on a fragile relationship.

Although the stories in this book are readable on their own, I found myself most interested in the titles involving Nora and Ruby. I would have preferred it if the book had focused solely on short stories involving these two women, instead of bouncing back and fourth.

Disclaimer: A review copy was provided by the publisher.

Photo credit: Amazon