Absolutely stunning and utterly beautiful.
Little vignettes of individuals, where in just a few paragraphs you get an insight into their entire world; what’s important to them, what is happening in their world and mind.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Supporting Cast is a collection of short stories that explores the lives of those who are often overlooked in literature: the supporting cast. While there are some stories in the collection that I personally found to be less engaging than others, overall, it is a very solid collection.

One of the strengths of this book is de Waal's ability to write with empathy and sensitivity about characters who are often marginalized. Whether it's an aging actor struggling to come to terms with his fading career or a young woman trying to navigate the complexities of a blended family, de Waal has a knack for getting to the heart of her characters' experiences.

That being said, not all of the stories in this collection hit the mark for me. There were a few that I found to be less engaging or impactful than others, and there were a couple that left me feeling a bit unsatisfied or wanting more.

However, even in the stories that didn't resonate with me as strongly, de Waal's writing is always beautiful and poignant. Her prose is spare but powerful, with each word carefully chosen to convey maximum impact.

Overall, I would recommend Supporting Cast to anyone who enjoys short story collections, particularly those that explore the lives of marginalized or underrepresented groups. While there are some stories that may not hit the mark for every reader, there are certainly enough strong pieces in this collection to make it a worthwhile read.

3.5 stars.

A very readable collection of short stories. My first from this author though I understand there are links to their other works. I’ll be reading more.

I haven't read any of Kit de Waal's other books, but have found out since reading Supporting Cast that the short stories are an accompaniment to her other fiction. I don't think it detracts from the stories at all. Each story is delicately crafted, full of details about each character that leaves you feeling as though they were someone you have met. The stories themselves are heartbreaking and I read them all in one day. The ultimate compliment.

What a fabulous idea for a book - giving smaller characters from previous stories their own short story! Love the title to go alongside this.

Kit de Waal has a brilliant way with words and each story is so well written. Really enjoyed this and I’m not usually a short story fan!

Kit de waal doesn’t disappoint with these brilliant short stories, snappy and quick, I really enjoyed this. Kit has a great writing style that carries you along and feels like a gab with a friend.

This is a really interesting concept for a book, take minor characters from your previous books and give them their own stories. I thoroughly enjoyed Supporting Cast, De Waal is such a humane writer, she really knows how to write believable and relatable characters. These stories explore themes such as family, belonging and class in really subtle and emotionally engaging ways.

Kit de Waal has been an author that I have wanted to read for a very long time. So when I had the opportunity to read her new book Supporting Cast I instantly dived in. 

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect of this book, after all it is a collection of short stories, of fleeting moments of time that are significant to that particular character. Moments that have a profound impact on the individual and those around them. Each story is written differently and you can feel that each new chapter is a different person.  Some of the stories are interlinked and I loved when I found those stories the most. 

It was not until I started reading other reviews on this book that I realised that this collection of characters are from Kit's full books. As I said previously I have never read one of her books. And having read this, there was something so easy about their story. Something that drew me in straight away that even without knowing much except those couple of pages or so I instantly felt a connection to the person on the page. 

Supporting Cast was a clever, insightful read. That drew me in and for a moment made me feel invested in the character. I cannot wait to read another book by Kit, my only problem is that I do not know which one to start of with. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Kit De Waal shows incredible skill in being able to move from story to story, narrator to narrator, giving each one an individual and plausible voice and showing great sympathy for her characters.

My review has featured as part of my What I Read in July video https://youtu.be/ylUnrAUV1qA


It has also featured in a Book Haul video https://youtu.be/qfHiiOeGHwQ

I'm not really a fan of short stories but when they have been written by Kit De Waal. I was intrigued. The stories all differ in length. The stories are about characters you will have already met if you've read Kit's previous books. There's always something special about the characters Kit writes about. The stories cover: grief, love, loss and happiness. They are beautifully written in Kit's own style.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Penguin books UK and the author Kit De Waal for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

After enjoying Kit de Waal's earlier novels, I was excited to read this collection of short stories. Every story was perfectly crafted and the characters were completely believable as always.
Each story could be read alone, but it was exciting to be able to pick out characters from de Waal's other novels and learn a bit more about them. This clever touch made me feel like I was get another insight into characters who I had had to leave behind on finishing the previous novels. Seeing them again made for a great experience as a reader.
I will definitely be recommending this novel far and wide.

This had been on my TBR pile for a while, partly due to the reviews I’ve seen of other Kit de Waal writings, but also because of the sheer number of mentions and conversations I’ve had or heard about this author. A bit like when you’ve learned a new word or have just started running – you hear it everywhere.

The format also suited my current reading state, shying away from more standard chapter separated and longform prose and towards more bite sized pieces.

“Supporting Cast” is a series of vignettes, small paintings of someone’s life in two pages or less. It’s a whirlwind of life and loss, of love and memory.  At first I tried to remember the names, location and dates for each title but there are so many it was distracting me from the story itself.

The people in the pages spring forth fully formed, but mid conversation. Each one takes you through their wedding, divorce, death, journey – release from prison, holiday to a caravan site or Europe, in a way which I always felt I was running to join in but, like a ceilidh, once you’re in and you know the steps, it all falls into place.

One point about this which, I confess, I wasn’t aware of when I started reading this – the characters in this book have appeared in other novels and short stories of Kit De Waal’s. I have some catching up to do, but I don’t think it impacted my enjoyment of this. In fact, I think I’d love to come back to it after reading some more of her stuff and connecting those dots as we learn more about the background characters and mentioned locations. It’s such a great idea, I love it that the end of a book or story doesn’t mean the end – they’re still living their lives and dreaming of the next train trip or family get together.  I’d be interested to know what it’s like for someone who’s read everything and can spot the references.

Recommended for some short – but not light hearted – stories. They are all wonderfully human but some of them are quite hard to read as they’re so packed full of emotion.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin for the ARC. This book is out to buy at the end of July - pre-order now!

These short stories (and some of them are very short) are beautifully written: every detail counts, every emotion rings true, no words are wasted.

When I reached the end of the book, I discovered that I'd been reading about characters from de Waal's other books - I wish I'd known this to start with, as I spent most of the book trying to make connections between the people, and the dates and places which are meticulously recorded. This was a minor niggle, and certainly didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book. I've not read anything by Kit de Waal before, and on the basis of this collection, I'll be doing my best to make up for what I've been missing.

I was intrigued when I saw that Kit de Waal had written a collection of short stories. I have very much enjoyed and rated her novels and wanted the chance to read her latest creation. I was not disappointed. Every single story (some short, some a little longer) were exquisite. I recognised some of the locations and characters, but they all stand alone and each and every character touched my heart. I didn't want to put the stories down until I had demolished every one of them.
#SupportingCast shows the authors talent and I can't wait to see what she produces next.
Thank you to the author, her publishers and #NetGalley for the opportunity to discover and review this beautiful collection.

An absolutely stunning collection of short stories from the amazing Kit De Waal. I adore Kit's writing, especially how richly developed the characters are. This short story collection further delves into the characters of previous books and reintroduces us to their charm and often heartbreak. I never want to put a Kit De Waal book down, and this one was no different.

I love Kit de Waals writing. I'm not a big fan of short stories but I make an exception for Kit de Waal. She writes with such feeling I always feel like I know the characters personally. The stories bring out all your emotions from happy to heartbreaking. I highly recommend this book.
Thank you NetGalley and Kit de Waal for the opportunity to read this amazing book.

Supporting Cast by Kit de Waal is an ingenious idea, beautifully executed. The book is a collection of short (sometimes very short - a few are only a page or so in length) stories designed to tug at your heartstrings. The stories are focused on characters that readers of de Waal's previous books may recognise, and this adds an extra layer of enjoyment for familiar readers, but it is not necessary to have that background knowledge to enjoy this book. The simplicity of the stories is echoed in the writing style, which allows the emotion to shine through. Each story captures a specific moment in time, and the associated memories and feelings, e.g. a woman on the way to see a solicitor about divorce remembers the early days of her marriage while a man being released from prison dreams of seeing his young son. The recurring theme of lost love adds a poignancy to the book that I found both beautiful and moving. Fans of de Waal will eat this up, and new readers will find it a perfect introduction to her work.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher ,all opinions are my own.

I'm not normally a fan of short story collections but I particularly like Kit de Waal as a writer so decided to give this collection a go. The stories are very short - some no more than two pages - and the whole collection took under two hours to read. There's a big variety of characters and settings here = each one starts with the character name, year and place. But the rest is up to the reader to work out, and quickly given the length.

Some - possibly all.- of the characters are from - or related to - de Waal's two novels. I say 'possibly all' because although I enjoyed those books and read them in the last couple of years, I can't remember the exact details of them, or the names of the minor characters. It probably helps though to have read her novels as it means you can identify with some of the characters and know their background without needing the word count. It also fills in some information about 'what happened next' and missing scenes from the novels. However, you don't need to have read the novels to appreciate these stories.

There's no doubt that de Waal is a good writer - her stories encompass a huge range of people, of different ages, ethnicities, genders and life situations. She writes of a young man being released from prison in the 1980s, a middle aged middle class mother returning home after her only son's wedding in the 2010s, a woman in small-town Ireland in the 1960s,, and plenty more besides. Her turn of phrase is good and she has the ability to make interesting observations and express them in an entertaining way.

For me, the stories are just too short and too disjointed to give this more than a three star rating. It's a book you read for the writing rather than the overall effect. The page time with each character is much too short to build up a relationship with the character and come to care about them. And although there is the link with her novels, those were two very different books, and the stories are jumbled together without an order or flow that I could work out. There was no unifying theme or underlying plot arch, as you see in some story collections. For longer short stories that can stand alone, that isn't so much of an issue. But for tiny vignettes you really need to stitch them into something bigger.

Fans of the short story format may enjoy this more than I did, and certainly I can't fault it on a page-by-page basis in terms of the writing quality. It just lacks a sense of a 'grand plan' that would raise it above the sum of its parts.