Thank you to @macmillan_audio @netgalley for the ALC in return for my honest review.
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My thoughts…
Sharp and witty. And poignantly light. “…this collection of loosely autobiographical stories locates the transforming moments of a haunted childhood.” The timeframe was during the time of Mantel’s childhood. This was fictional but was still historically shaped by the politics, trends and policies woven into childhood memory, anxieties and a coming of age stories. She handled the psyche of young people really well, that left you believing the feelings and narratives were filled with true emotions. And, the liked the narrators.

"Mercy was a theory that I had not seen in operation. I had only seen how those who wielded power extracted maximum advantage from every situation." Learning to Talk, Hilary Mantel

I enjoyed these stories, but they did not wowed me. The stories are told from the perspective of children dealing with an adult world. Children's perspective is not one of my favorites in my reading. The writing is good. I must confess that I an not a Mantel's fan, but I did enjoy the stories. Thank you to Henry Holt and Company, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advance copy.

I deeply loved the Cromwell trilogy, but these essays of domesticity just did not have that same magic. I understand some of these essays pre-exist that set, and maybe do not fully incorporate how her writing has evolved. By no means is any of it bad, but it does not hit the same heights.

My sister is a big fan of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall series, so when I saw this, I figured the writing would be good. It was, as was the narration of the audiobook. It is described as loosely autobiographical, making me wonder how much so, given the complexity of the family dynamics in the stories.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* i have heard a lot about this book and wanted to read it so i was happy to see i got approved for it and due it being a shorter book, it was easy to finish in one go. would recommend.

What did I expect? I don't know either. However, I enjoyed every short story. Each story left me thinking and questioning my words.

The narrators were good.

Life lessons are shared in a few stories. This is one of the rare books I wasn't ready to end. This is not preachy. These are beautifully told memories.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for accepting my request to read and review Learning to Talk.

Hauntingly beautiful stories written perfectly from a child's point of view. Listening to these makes me want to begin the Cromwell trilogy all over again. How did the release in the US of these stories take so long? These evoke the vulnerable childhood love (and fear) of the adults who are supposed to care for us. The narrator's voice is lovely! Just a wonderful experience to listen.

Having heard high praises of her novels, I have been wanting to read Dame Hilary Mantel's book for quite sometime. However, the length of her many books intimidated me. So, when I heard there would be a new audiobook of her short stories originally published in 2003, I was delighted to give it a try.

Her prose are elegant and seamless, and one can feel the air of English village in 1950s. Some of the stories are said to be loosely autobiographical. Read by several narrators (this helps distinguish one story to another in an audiobook), each stories are like delicate confectionary. It turns out that I personally do not have much appetite for such delicacies, and at times they seemed banal and uninteresting to me. It's well written, and I believe this is just due to personal taste.

I would recommend this book to numerous Mantel fans out there. Her stories are interesting.

An advanced copy of this audiobook was provided for review purposes courtesy of NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Henry Holt and Company. Thank you!

I enjoyed this collection. It was quiet and elegant and sparse. I enjoyed the subtlety and the rendering of a world of bygone years. Recommended if you enjoy quiet, subtle English stories of childhood on reflection. 3.5 stars

This is not Hilary's Mantel's best work. But, I enjoyed it.
I didn't know this was a 2nd volume to Giving up the Ghost, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I enjoy her writing style and I listened to this on Audio, which helped. The diversity in narrators, added to the nuances of the stories.
Ms. Mantel's books are often on a quest of discovery, to dig a little deeper into those childhood memories that so often surface and to keep searching for that hidden gem.
My favorite stories were from the title, "Learning to Talk" about elocution, the curious nature of words, and "Third Floor Rising" about an 18 year old's first job in a department store.
There is nothing earth shattering here, just quiet stories, eloquently written.

Thank you NetGalley and MacmIllan Audio for the opportunity to read and review this delightful book!

Whenever I want to get to know a new (to me) author, I check out one of their short story collections. Nothing can give you a feel for their writing style and story-telling prowess quite like a short story. This collection was beautifully crafted and included an introduction by the author. The stories are connected in a way that both confounds and soothes. Like sharing a cup of tea with frustrated friend, you get the sense of someone working through their reminiscences and offering humor in the face of sorrow. I highly recommend this book, and I will be looking for more of Hillary Mantel's work from now on.

I've long known about the author's work but I hadn't read anything prior. Unfortunately I was not a huge fan of this short story collection. Even now, I can't really recall what any of the stories were about. Perhaps it's more for die-hard fans of Ms. Mantel's work.

I really loved this book of stories from Hilary Mantel! I listened to the audiobook while reading along. The stories use different narrators in the audiobook version, which helped break up the stories. The stories had a great sense of place in England, and some deal with the themes of moving and change. There were a few that feature children as the narrator, which I enjoyed and don't often read. The writing was beautiful and lyrical. The narrators were very calming!