Habits of Silence, Stephanie Buckle

Shortlisted for the Steele Rudd Award for a short story collection

Afterwards, she couldn’t remember actually making a decision to steal from him. It was as if it had already been made, a long time ago, and simply awaited the opportunity.

She didn’t, of course, call it stealing. As she slid the fifty dollar note into the pocket of her own jeans, and dropped the shirt into the washing machine—carried on, in fact, as if nothing had happened—she told herself that someone had to take some responsibility.

The role of silence in the relationships of the people who populate this richly varied collection of stories is mirrored in the restraint of the writing that captures them. While the characters have all the difficulties communicating that we can recognise in our own lives, Buckle’s deceptively understated style reveals them with startling cumulative power.

Buckle’s stories have appeared widely, two of them in Best Australian Stories (Black Inc), and a number have won or been shortlisted for various prizes.

‘…imbued with a deep sense of knowingness… Buckle’s insights into human relationships make you sit up and pay attention.’ Whispering Gums

‘…put together with… assuredness and (a) piercing eye… Buckle’s tone, bending through various characters and their narratives, is sharply contemporary…’ Verity La

‘Not only is it a stylish book, I have enjoyed each story immensely—a ‘best read’ of 2017! I kept thinking the next story can’t be as gripping and convincing and superb as the last one—and it was.’ Kevin Brophy