Yes Yes More More

Yes Yes More More features fifteen slice-of-life stories that brim with quiet joy; vivid and incredibly tender at the same time. To be honest, I wasn't sure whether I would get on with Wood's "no plot just vibes" approach to her stories when I started but I am glad to report that I found this debut collection quite charming. There is a warmth and zest for life in Wood's writing that is remarkable. At the center of these stories is the spirited Annie Marshall who we meet at various points in her life as well as a recurring cast of characters, most importantly her friends Stella, Janey, and Claire, as well as some other minor characters. It's not always obvious to the reader who narrates each story, one needs to do a little unpicking, some close reading, but in my opinion that is part of the fun of these stories and it's great to see the characters you've grown to care about pop up again unexpectedly. Woods places these characters in everyday situations: job interviews, travel, nights out, lunch with a coworker, or a chance encounter. To say that these are stories in which nothing happens would do a disservice to Wood. Rather she sets up stories in a way that the reader waits for moments the situation spins out of control and then subverts that expectation to reveal that sometimes you don't need to have bad things happen to make for a good story. How refreshing. Instead, young girls spend an afternoon on acid to end up safe and sound at home in their pyjamas with a warm beverage, a mom runs into her late daughter's best friend after many years and they reminisce, two women go to a cabin in the woods and no one tries to murder them. There is heartbreak and new love and friendship and disappointments and weddings and babies and sex, some good some bad. In other words: life.