ANNE ANDREWS

JOHN HEFFERNAN

 

 TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
 

Some time ago Anne Andrews gave me two short stories to read, stories she’d written about her time in PNG(Papua New Guinea). Initially I read them both quite quickly because I was busy with my own writing. But I found that the stories stayed with me, lingering at the back of my mind. There was definitely something powerful about them, something that would not let go of me. I remember that they were easy to read, that they flowed smoothly. But the smoothness in Anne’s style of writing was in fact quite deceptive, for the stories were not at all easy to forget. They refused to be ignored, and in no time at all I knew I had to read them again. I did so, despite a pressing deadline I had at the time on a book, and I can honestly say that I’m glad I did.

 

As far as I’m concerned there are a number of qualities that make a good writer, and I believe from reading these stories that Anne has these qualities.

 

The first of these is her writing style. It is distinctly hers, simple but certainly not simplistic. Anne clearly understands one of the great strengths of the English language, its economy, its capacity to express complex thoughts and ideas in prose that is neither complex nor convoluted. I believe that is a great skill for an author to have.

 

Then there is the strength of her character portrayal. I found that I could see her characters clearly and understand what they were about, that they were real people. Even more importantly, though, I found that I cared about her characters. Quite often I read books with characters that I honestly couldn’t care less about. They don’t engage me on any level whatsoever. As I remember, this was certainly not the case with Anne’s creations.

 

Connected with this aspect of character, I think I’m right in saying that Anne’s two stories showed a true grasp of the importance of emotionally involving the reader. There was something in both of them that appealed strongly to my heart more than to my head.

 

Anne’s work also certainly contained a definite understanding of the importance and power of suspense. I remember feeling quite gripped in several places by that tingle of unease which attends strong suspense.

 

There was also an undeniable sense of authenticity about Anne’s writing - a deep grasp of place and culture and mood. I felt that I was in the competent hands of someone who knew their subject. Again, that is often not the case with writers who deal with cultures that are outside their own.

 

Finally, I would just like to add that when I did read Anne’s stories a second and then a third time, what particularly struck me was that fundamentally they were damn good yarns. I think that is immensely important.

 

John Heffernan

 

August 23rd, 2018