Faces on the Tip of My Tongue

by Emmanuelle Pagano
Faces on the Tip of My Tongue cover
Good Books rating 4.03
Short Story Collections
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Paperback • £6.00
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Technical
  • ID: 4052
  • Added: 2025-10-21
  • Updated: 2025-10-21
  • ISBN: 9781908670557
  • Publisher: Peirene Press
  • Published: 2019-10-22
  • Formats: 1
  • Reviews: 3

In this captivating collection, Emmanuelle Pagano delves into the lives of a rural French community, weaving together tales of love, loss, and the unexpected. With a keen eye for detail, Pagano portrays the mad, the mysterious, and the dispossessed, revealing the hidden connections that bind the inhabitants of this small world. Through her unique voice, Pagano shifts seamlessly between wistfulness and blunt force, blending fantasy with naturalism. The stories are a treasure hunt of sorts, with each title leading to the next, creating a spellbinding web that highlights the beauty and poignancy of everyday lives. Critics have praised the collection for its devastating beauty and the way it reminds us how little we truly know of each other.

Reviews
Goodreads · Various · 2025-10-21
superb 3.60

The stories weave together the lives of the mad, the mysterious, and the dispossessed in rural France with honesty and humour. It is a superb, cumulative collection that leaves a lasting impression.

Goodreads reviewers collectively praised the book for its honest and humorous portrayal of rural French life. They found the stories to be beautifully interwoven, creating a cumulative effect that is both powerful and memorable. The reviewer appreciated the unique perspectives and characters that Pagano brings to life, making the book a standout read. The cumulative nature of the collection was particularly highlighted, as it builds to a powerful conclusion.

Quick quotes

    Pagano's stories weave together the mad, the mysterious and the dispossessed of a rural French community with honesty and humour.

    A superb, cumulative collection that leaves a lasting impression.

    The stories are beautifully interwoven, creating a cumulative effect that is both powerful and memorable.

Tony's Reading List · Tony · 2020-05-07
beautifully 4.50

The short stories are beautifully written, with excellent translation work. There are distinct differences between the stories, but they all contribute to a cohesive whole.

Tony found the short stories to be beautifully written and praised the translation work by Lewis and Higgins. They noted that each story has its own distinct style and perspective, but they all come together to form a cohesive and engaging collection. The reviewer appreciated the unique voices and perspectives that Pagano brings to life, making the book a memorable read. Tony also highlighted the excellent work of the translators, which adds to the overall quality of the book.

Quick quotes

    These short stories are all beautifully written, with excellent work by the team of Lewis and Higgins.

    There are distinct differences between the stories, but they all contribute to a cohesive whole.

    The unique voices and perspectives that Pagano brings to life make the book a memorable read.

Reading in Bed · 2020-03-08
charming 4.00

The collection is charming and disorienting, with tightly connected stories that evoke a sense of place and time. The narrative style is unique and engaging, making it a standout read.

This reviewer found the book to be a delightful and disorienting experience. The stories are interconnected in a way that creates a cohesive whole, and the narrative style is both unique and engaging. They particularly appreciated how the book evokes a strong sense of place and time, making it a memorable read. The reviewer also noted that the book does something that many novels try to do metaphorically, but does it literally, which adds to its charm.

Quick quotes

    The result is a charming, disorienting, tightly connected collection that literally does something that many a novel tries to metaphorically do: evoke a sense of place and time.

    The narrative style is unique and engaging, making it a standout read.

    The book does something that many novels try to do metaphorically, but does it literally, which adds to its charm.

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