I was initially wooed by the sumptuous cover on Pulse Points (it reminds me of something I might find on a dress at Gorman), and the fact that Down’s novel, Our Magic Hour, was a 2017 favourite of mine. And while I enjoyed the titular story, it was the second story, Aokigahara, that reminded me that the term ‘velvet hammer’ should be applied to Down’s writing. Aokigahara tells of a young woman’s journey to the ‘suicide forest’ in Japan – all of the unsettling emotion, honesty and glorious sentences that distinguished Our Magic Hour are evident in 15-odd pages –

I phoned my father when I arrived. He said, You mum’s just around at Aunty El’s, in such a way that I knew she wasn’t: that she’d left the room with her hand to her mouth when he’d first said, Hullo, love, and I felt so sorry for us all.

Other stories were equally as good. The tenderness in We Got Used to Here Fast, a story about kids temporarily living with their grandparents, was notable, as it was in the story of two adult sisters, Peaks. Down creates a wonderful sense of place in each story and I got completely (happily) side-tracked by small, exquisite turns of phrase that were also hugely expressive –

Power-pedalling up the big hill at night, foreheads spangled with sweat. (Aokigahara)

I groped through my bag, whose contents shifted and slid over one another like things lost on the ocean floor. (Convalescence)

When she left the sky was paper-coloured. All the cows had started their journey home, their tender ears flattened. (Alpine Road)

4/5 Lots to love.

I received my copy of Pulse Points from the publisher, Text Publishing, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

4+ stars

Pulse Points is a stunning collection of short stories, a weaving of powerful portraits about real people, real love and real loss. Stories of life are perfectly encapsulated by Jennifer Down and presented to us in neat little packages that are overflowing with emotion. The prose is concise but revealing, and overflowing with both heart-wrenching emotion and intelligence.

Each story is about an ordinary person - or ordinary people - all grappling with the complexities of human emotion: heartache, anxiety, joy, grief, helplessness. The standout story, and my favourite, is ‘Aokigahara’, in which a young woman travels to the sea of trees in Japan to say goodbye to her brother. It is searing with emotion and is delivered with an intensity yet a clarity that is truly mesmerising. 'Dogs' is dark and gripping; 'Pressure Okay' is a poignant story of grief and of loss.

In each of these stories, no word is spared. The prose is sharp and affecting, offering fully-fledged characters who jump off the page, yet each story is impressively concise. I was truly stunned by Down's ability to bring stories and people alive, giving them such depth and emotion, but doing it in a way that is so minimalist, with no two voices the same. Everything within the pages of this book is handled wit the utmost care, making Down a master of the short story.

I haven'd read Our Magic Hour but am eager to after this wonderful reading experience. Highly recommended; a magnificent collection.

4★
“‘She wanted it,’ and we all went, Yeah, and Fog said, ‘Fat c. . . and we all said the way we remembered it till we were sure it was right.
. . .
Foggo had some rough years. I think it f***ed him up when his dad died. But he came good. Last I heard he was a senior constable working at the Swan Hill station.”

Swan Hill is a Melbourne cop shop (without Foggo, I feel quite certain), but Down shows us how he and his mates obviously escaped any charges by making sure they “remembered right”.

Foggo is just one of many memorable characters in Down’s short stories. Some are good sorts, salt of the earth, many are anxious and troubled, and some you wouldn’t want to meet on a dark night. There are quite a few children, and she has a good eye and ear for them.

I particularly enjoyed ”We Got Used to Here Fast” about a couple of kids, the first half told by older brother Sam and the second half years later told by Lally. This is from the first half.

“Lally picks up twigs and holds them like cigarettes. Her breath comes out in clouds. I can tell she’s trying to be grown-up but she looks constipated.”

Overhearing a conversation between their grandparents:

“‘What’s custardy,’ I say, even though it’s not like Lally would know. But she puts a finger to her lips. ‘It’s who owns the kids,’ she whispers.

After a tragedy.

“Lally bursts into tears. They’re terrible sobs that come up out of her legs.”

The confusion of childhood, the depth of feeling, and the relationships between siblings show up in other stories, too. Locations vary from urban and rural Australia to Europe and the US.

There are many couples, some current, some exes, some about to split, some who should. All good stories. I didn’t count, but I’m sure most protagonists were women. This woman’s hair had just grown back and she’s visiting an old friend she hasn’t seen in a long time.

“‘It suits you,’ she said. ‘Even the grey suits you. You look like a middle-aged actress in a French film.’

‘Am I f***ing the swim instructor? Or am I on a train contemplating suicide because my husband is f***ing the swim instructor?’

‘God, you’re so difficult,’ Yoni said. It was very easy to make her laugh.”

Some people are sitting at deathbeds, some are avoiding coming to terms with inevitable changes, and some are just downright anxious and uncomfortable all the time. Here’s an example readers may recognise but which doesn’t give away any plot points.

“I like reading, but I get most of my books from other people or from the recently returned shelf at the library. When I have to choose my own, I feel overwhelmed. Suddenly I don’t trust my own taste and I buy something with a metallic sticker on the front. This is also how I choose wine when I need to spend more than ten dollars.”

I had trouble with so many stories told in the first person when I didn’t know who or what the person was until well into the story sometimes. The story about the children was extra confusing because the first-person point of view changed suddenly when the date changed.

A warning that there’s a fair bit of rough language and questionable activities and females squatting somewhere handy to take a p... and guys who don’t take no for an answer.

Reading the stories together made for some repetition of themes and characters for me, and I seldom got the feeling that the voice had changed. The narrators sounded much the same.

The last, Coarsegold, was the one of the longest and most complicated, with an interesting combination of relationships which I won’t spoil here, other than to say the main character is bi-sexual.

There is a very long blurb on Goodreads about the stories, so I'll say no more.

This Aussie author has won a slew of awards for her writing, and I’m not surprised. Thanks to NetGalley and Text Publishing for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted.

Pulse Points is a collection of short stories by a very talented young Australian author, each giving a unique window into a moment of time in an ordinary life. Except those lives are not ordinary, but reflect the full range of the human condition from love and joy to grief and loss. Each story is brief but complete and somehow each voice is individual and fully realised. Many of the characters are underdogs living on the edges of society but their fears and feelings are universal. My favourite story was the award winning 'Aokigahara', the story of a girl visiting Japan's 'suicide forest' to say goodbye to her brother but the writing was such that every story made a strong emotional message.

I've said many time that short stories rank high on my list of favorite things to read. Pulse Points covers all the feelings...ALL OF THEM. Sadness, lost, heartbreak, loneliness, grief.

As is often the case with story collections there are highlights and some that lack an emotional impact...however, Pulse Points is consistent in poignant slice of life moments that evoke feelings that last beyond that end of the story. I'm still thinking about "Aokigahara" and "Turncoat".

Thanks to NetGalley, Jennifer Down and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a book a short stories involving a variety of interesting characters at potentially life changing moments in their lives. The pulse points, I am guessing.
The events can range from the typical, almost banal,to heart wrenching drama. Some of the writing is really lovely, thoughtful and insightful. Sometimes the set up for the story is thorough and can lead a reader to expect a more fleshed out story than a short piece can really provide.
There is one artifact about this book that holds me back some. The characters and action are carefully staged and then lead to an abrupt close with no clear resolution or direction. For several of the the chapters, this is a good way to conclude the piece, leaving one wondering. However all the stories use this quick, perhaps ironic ending. At first, it was ok, but towards the end, I felt I would have liked more resolution, for at least of few.

This collection of short stories by Australian writer Jennifer Down is varied in both setting and subject matter, but all the stories have in common a keen understanding and expression of human frailty. Each story offers, in the space of only a few pages, a profound sense of understanding of each of the characters. They highlight our desperation for intimacy and connection, and how frustratingly elusive these can be. A gem of a collection, and highly recommended.

This is a collection of stories that provide accounts of people's life experiences, especially their trying moments. My first mistake was to attempt to read it in one sitting. I realized that I understood the book better when I read one story at a time and gave myself ample time before starting the next one.
Some of the themes here are grief, love, family, friendship, loss, trust and empathy.
I also found the book title to be appropriate for the stories because I know pulse points as the places on our bodies where you can feel the heartbeat. Given the situations the characters in this book were going through, I'd check my pulse just to see that I was still alive and breathing.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.