This book is comprised of 29 short stories, all of them in chapter format. Somewhere along the line, I missed understanding this, so for the first 6 chapters, I could not find the connection between the characters. DUH! I went back and read the “inside cover” to discover that I was on the wrong reading path and needed to re-start the book.

I love short stories and usually devour a book that contains them. This book, however, I had a bit more trouble with. It’s almost as though a chapter, for me, is too short for a “short story.” I need, for my PERSONAL TASTE, more depths to the characters and the stories. Like, in Unaccustomed Earth, the stories were rich and just the perfect length for my taste. This book, however, the stories were too short. Now, this may be just me. I realize that.

Enright does a great job in her prose and her absurdly EXCELLENT writing skills. Her ability to describe a setting and its characters is WONDERFUL. I just didn’t get enough of the stories I liked… and wanted to skip the stories that held no interest for me. It’s almost as if I feel guilty about my reading or review of this book… like I need to take WAY MORE TIME and approach it with a different mind-set to fully appreciate this work.

This book may be up so many other’s alleys.. and, this may just be me. She, obviously, is an INCREDIBLE writer. I just couldn’t connect with Yesterday’s Weather, for the most part. There are some chapters, like “Until the Girl Died,” that I loved. And, others that were just outside of my realm of understanding and taste. But, do not let that preclude you from reading this book if you are interested in it. This book may be your favorite! Again, I think it’s just me. This writer seems to have the ability to look into the psyche’s of others unlike anything I’ve ever seen. So, give it a chance if you like short stories and interesting takes on the “norm.”

On Sher’s “One Out of Ten Scale:”
Like, Being Written, I don’t want to give this book a rating because it’s so different from the books that I normally gravitate torwards. This author is obviously SO TALENTED and, I’m sure it’s just me on this one. But, in my PERSONAL opinion, which others may plainly disagree with, I have to give this book a 5. Some chapters… a definite 8… but, overall, for me, a 5. There are just some of the short stories that left me thinking… “what?” or “what else?” I’m sorry Ms. Enright…. I really did look forward to this book and PAID FULL PRICE PLUS SHIPPING FOR IT. (Oh, the guilt over the 5). ( )

It's impossible to read Enright without recalling the realistic writings of Hemingway and Joyce. Enright packs so much insight and harshness of the human experience in just a few pages of each story. This Irish writer is a literary treasure! ( )