All of human life is reflected in the perceptive short stories by Amanda Huggins and the focus of her latest anthology, Each of us a Petal, is Japan. From city streets and bars to the silence of snow-covered mountains, Huggins’ love and knowledge of the country shine clearly. It is her love song for Japan, its people, its heritage, countryside and traditions. The Japanese lens brings a new flavour to themes familiar from earlier anthologies, of love and loss, being adrift and on the outside or left behind, and notions of identity. The small details are beautifully described. Ume, who collects champagne and oranges to start her day with a mimosa. Suzume who catches a glimpse of graceful cranes through a train window, ‘their black-tipped wings lit by the sun.’ Huggins has sat in the late night bars watching salarymen down glass after glass of whisky, she has walked the mountain paths where bears may lurk in shadows. As well as winning the Saboteur Award for Best Novella twice, prizes for poetry and the 2018 Costa Short Story Award runner-up award, she is also an award-winning travel writer. In Each of Us a Petal, these disciplines and insight are drawn together.
One of my favourite stories, one I found myself thinking about days later, is the shortest. ‘Sparrow Footprints’ is only one page, a brief tale as delicate as a bird’s footprints in the snow but the emotional message between the words is heavy and oh so familiar to anyone who has loved.
‘The Knife Salesman from Kochi’ is a longer tale with a shock at the end. Mr Omote is the knife salesman from Kochi who stays at the inn owned by Yumi, inherited from her mother. Huggins explores a depth of grief that, once the surface signs have faded, lurks deeply hidden from even those closest.
‘Stolen’ is about the illicit freedom that comes with anonymity, questioning how well you know yourself and the one that you are closest to. Anna and Keizo meet friends in the woodlands in moonlight, it is kitsune festival time and families picnic, children play, many wear masks. Keizo’s friends all wear traditional fox masks which cover the whole of the face, Anna and Keizo are given masks too. When couples begin disappearing into the woods, hand in hand, Keizo says they are taking advantage of the privacy offered by the trees.
Huggins is a master of condensing emotion into a few pages, focusing on one element and exploring it with precision and beauty. I finished the book and immediately started leafing through the pages again, searching for favourites to re-read. The title of the anthology is a quote from Huggins’ essay ‘Each of Us a Petal,’ included in this book, and refers to cherry blossom.
CLICK HERE TO BUY THE BOOK AT THE AUTHOR’S WEBSITE

Read my reviews of other work by Amanda Huggins:-
Novellas
ALL OUR SQUANDERED BEAUTY
CROSSING THE LINES
THE BLUE OF YOU
Short stories
AN UNFAMILIAR LANDSCAPE
BRIGHTLY COLOURED HORSES
SCRATCHED ENAMEL HEART
SEPARATED FROM THE SEA
Poetry
THE COLLECTIVE NOUNS FOR BIRDS

If you like this, try:-
‘A Town Called Solace’ by Mary Lawson
‘Himself’ by Jess Kidd
‘Anderby Wold’ by Winfred Holtby

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:-
#BookReview EACH OF US A PETAL by Amanda Huggins @troutiemcfish https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-7h2 via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:-