'How do you do that, I want to know; how do you live in all these worlds at once?'

It's a question posed by the narrator of Nell Stevens' first short story, The Minutes, and one that can be asked of The Good Time itself. Each of these short stories in the collection is a vivid vignette. How is it possible to think of so many captivating worlds in one collection? It's certainly a commendable achievement.

In summary: what an absolutely marvellous collection of short stories. I read through The Good Time in just several sittings; I finished one story and immediately wanted to read another. My favourites were 'The Minutes', 'I'm Afraid' and 'The Reading'.

Stevens' writing is so moreish and exacting. I felt that she knew exactly what to say in as few words as possible: keeping her prose taut and lean.

Characters in all the short stories feel utterly real; nuanced and rendered with such specificity. Having said that, there is a clear note running through them all: characters reckoning with difficult personal challenges. Several stories also include themes like self-identity, motherhood and fertility – but even if they occupy similar themes, they diverge completely in their contents so feel fresh and unique. Wit and humour is used in the stories in a really clever, engaging way – Stevens' has a wry and fervent voice which complements narratives so well.

Take this for example: ''She texted a friend asking if he was free for lunch, and then another friend, and then a tier-two friend because the first two were busy.' and 'He had the kind of voice that sounded like it should belong to a ginger cat.'

I love how Stevens' trusts the reader – she often moves forward and backward between scenes in a story, flashing forward and then hurtling back in time. There could be a worry that this would disorient the reading, but it doesn't: her writing grounds you, and you know exactly where you are.

The stories feel contemporary without leaning into cliché; we get references to ChatGPT and artificial intelligence threatening a character's business, lockdown with work meetings on Zoom and little tid-bits like this which work very well.

Overall, I loved The Good Time. With short story collections, sometimes some stories can blur into one and it can be difficult to distinguish between them. Not in this case: each of The Good Time's stories will stay with you – they are wonderfully unique, humorous and poignant all at once – and a true pleasure to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced reader copy.

I loved this collection of short stories, Nell Stevens is definitely one of my favourite authors so I was pleased that this collection did not disappoint, especially when short stories can be so hit and miss.

Strong sapphic themes throughout around longing, awkwardness, and motherhood. I think my favourite was the opening story about the destruction of a social housing block and a group of young activist artists trying to make it into a statement.

I think it feels especially important to me as a 30 year old queer woman in the UK, capturing a range of feelings around themes such as: workplace mundanity, the uncertain question of having children, the joys and terrors of queer love, and social discomfort.

I think people are sleeping on this author, she deserves a lot more attention tbh, especially from people who prioritise reading sapphic books.