... a no-holds-barred collection of 13 dirty, doughty and often wickedly funny stories that cover everything from common misconceptions about aging (no, grandmothers aren’t only there to serve their grandchildren, and, yes, their thinking processes can be just as deep and nuanced as they were at a youthful 30) to erotic desire (or the long-overdue liberation from sexual obligation) to retaining agency as 'an oldie.' The best part? They’re all narrated by mouthy women who are through with being patronized ... Campbell is at her strongest when she combines astute observations about getting older with intimate portraits of humans in need ... isn’t flawless. The choppy sentences and wonky punctuation in sections could use addressing. The shocking endings to some stories don’t always match the well-paced development in the rest of the narrative ... Still, Jane Campbell’s commanding voice — and wise insights about female empowerment, about embracing one’s twilight years and about feeling seen no matter how old you are — is one damn well worth listening to.
Octogenarian Jane Campbell may be 'new' to the publishing industry, but her first book is refreshingly accomplished. The 13 exquisitely drawn short stories in the collection are woven with wit and bold enlightenment. Each meticulously crafted gem focuses on the lives of aging women who grapple with their shrinking places in the world while coming to terms with feelings and failings, choices and losses ... Aspects of regret, mourning, fantasies and lost love infuse these eloquently rendered, skillfully plotted stories that pack a wallop ... in Campbell's wholly original, late-in-life stories, the limitations compelled by age become surprising sources of wisdom and empowered liberation.
... plumbs the lives, longings, and ongoing intellectual turmoil of older women in language that’s light but tart and penetrating; Campbell is a master of the apt phrase ... A charming and incisive study of women in late life that will be revelatory to all readers.
