The short story is a lightning-quick gut-punch, thrown under the sightline. No telegraphing, no time to react. It requires its creator to wield brevity and depth with equal skill. There’s no rope-a-dope, no waiting for the clock to run down, no winning on points. It demands that the writer know what to say and what not to say, leaving the reader to fill in the gaps. With her debut collection There’s Always More to Say, Natalie Southworth demonstrates that she not only understands the skills necessary to write powerful short stories, she has no shortage of them.
With her debut collection There’s Always More to Say, Natalie Southworth demonstrates that she not only understands the skills necessary to write powerful short stories, she has no shortage of them.
This collection consists of nine stories, three of which follow the same family, Cora, Rachel and their parents, and are all connected by thematic strands. Familial bonds fray and disintegrate silently. Southworth dissects the family unit, the power struggles and the search for belonging and wholeness. Fathers become unmoored, drifting further and further from the expected role of provider and protector. Mothers struggle to find themselves in the morass of motherhood and wifehood, the challenge of balancing work life and home life. All the while, their children bear witness. This is exemplified in the stories told from Cora’s point of view, who, as younger siblings tend to do, looks to her older sister for the answers to her parents’ mysterious behaviour.
A fascinating element within a book called There’s Always More to Say is observing how much goes unsaid in these stories. Southworth uses what’s left unsaid the way an artist uses negative space, therefore creating a moody atmosphere within the suburban, middle-class settings of these stories. The author demonstrates precision with both exposition and action.
A fascinating element within a book called There’s Always More to Say is observing how much goes unsaid in these stories.
There’s a sense of reportage to these stories, along with a deeper exploration of the emotional undercurrents in a family. The dramatic stakes in these stories are often relatively small splashes, but in the ripples, in what is left unsaid, tension is created. Several of these pieces follow a similar pattern, a family of four, the mother and father drifting apart, the kids struggling to understand what’s happening to their family while seemingly understanding that tomorrow will not look like yesterday.
This collection will fit well on your bookshelf tucked between the works of Mavis Gallant and Carol Shields. These well-crafted stories offer us a look inside the lives of our neighbours and the struggles they pray desperately never become part of their community’s gossip. Southworth demonstrates a measured and skillful hand, weaving together nuanced, deep characters and the trials they must endure together. There’s Always More to Say is a rewarding read and a brilliant debut for Southworth.
Natalie Southworth‘s short stories have appeared in literary journals in Canada, the US, and the UK. They have won The Brighton Prize, placed third in The Moth Short Story Prize, and were finalists for The Fish Prize, The New Quarterly‘s Peter Hinchcliffe Award, and Prairie Fire‘s McNally Robinson Booksellers Short Fiction Contest. Originally from England, she lives in Montreal with her husband and children.
Publisher: Linda Leith Publishing (March 14, 2026)
Paperback 8″ x 5″ | 170pgs
ISBN: 9781773901862
Jeff Dupuis is a writer and editor living in Toronto. He is the author of The Creature X Mystery novels and numerous short stories, which have been published in The Ex-Puritan and The Temz Review among others. Jeff is the editor, alongside A.G. Pasquella, of the anthology Devouring Tomorrow: Fiction from the Future of Food, which will be published in 2025 by Dundurn Press.
