Carol and I were both Jerwood/Arvon fiction mentees in 2015, mentored by Ross Raisin (of whom more later). Carol’s settings and situations become solid through a few, perfect details. Within them she explores relatable characters’ complex emotions and psychologies.
In ‘Turnstones’ the protagonist is Jo, a student whose immediate problem is that she has forgotten her pass card for the library. While she is arguing her case with the security guard, the narrative takes us gently through her background, revealing her insecurities about being too working class to belong in this prestigious university.
“A finger of rain fell on the flagstones. A mottled brown bird darted past her and ducked beneath the turnstile, then hopped, all twiggy orange feet, onto the staircase. A turnstone, she thought. She smiled at its quicksilver audacity. Not one flap or stumble or glance over the shoulder. No notion of trespass. It trotted inside as though the library was its usual, wintering home.”
That turnstone is followed by others breaking in and causing chaos until Jo is presented with an understated epiphany.
“They moved like one stretched beating muscle, an echocardiogram that was strong and healthy and still had far to go.”
First published at Granta online, here, 2nd June 2021, and anthologised in I Cleaned The- and Other Stories, Paper & Ink, 2021, both as a result of winning the Canada and Europe Region of the 2021 Commonwealth Prize
A Personal Anthology 