By Megan Thomas
After attending a fascinating event with author Gurnaik Johal and Paul Dalla Rosa at the 2022 Edinburgh Book Festival, I immediately got myself a copy of We Move. I love a short story collection, I love a debut writer, and I really loved We Move.
In a similar way to Bernardine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other, this is a short story collection that could easily be read as a novel. All the characters are linked in different ways, tied together by their home: the multigenerational Punjabi community in Southall, London. There is still so much variety of experience to counteract these similarities – it is reflective of humanity in this way. Its humanity, or rather its realness and “snapshot of life” nature, really is a strength and this is clear in the characters’ flaws. They are not parables or stocks that represent general themes or symbols, but individuals who feel and behave as such.
It is unusual for me to read a short story collection and not have an obvious favourite, and I think this speaks to how interwoven they all are – it would feel like choosing a favourite chapter of a novel, which is impossible when your outright enjoyment from one may be influenced by the rich detail of another, for instance.
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