Robin Black

stories

If I loved you, I would tell you this

Sarah Sammis

If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This by Robin Black is a debut collection of ten short stories. The central theme is transition and coping.

The titular story is a prime example of how these stories unfold. Each scene begins with the phrase, "If I loved you, I would tell you this—" as she silently rants about her neighbor. He, unaware of her health problems or her son's problems, builds a tall fence around his property. The fence limits the space in her drive way, making it more difficult to get to her home. That apparently small inconvenience spirals out to many more problems and more bottled up anger.

The simplest solution — one not tried by the main character — would be to talk politely with the neighbor. She, though, is the silent martyr type. She keeps quiet to keep the drama and emotional tension high.

The other stories pull similar tricks. After a couple of them, you'll start to see the patterns involved in writing the stories. At that point, you will either like the collection, or you won't. I found the emotional string pulling tedious at the halfway point.

From the blind girl who sees more than her parents can, to the portrait artist who sees more than her clients would wish, Robin Black illuminates secret fears, hidden desires, profound grief and enduring love in a collection as rich and varied as the relationships it describes. These are generous and compassionate stories for anyone attuned to the intricate heartbreak of families – to our power to hurt and to nurture those we love best. ‘Full of substance and colour. Many short stories have a habit of evaporating not long after you’ve read them. Black’s have an uncanny tendency to stick around’ Metro ‘An exploration of secret monologues and private emotions that makes for an illuminating, moving and universally resonant experience’ Easy Living ‘Exquisitely distilled tales of loss and reckoning’ Vogue ‘Black writes with grace and simplicity’ TLS

If I loved you, I would tell you this stories

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