With the pandemic all locking us inside our homes, there can be no better time to pick up Anthony Doerr’s debut collection, ‘The Shell Collector’. A collection of eight beautifully crafted stories, all of them intricately interwoven into the canvas of nature, The Shell Collector is not loud and boisterous in its escape from the drudgeries of reality. Instead the anthology comes with the quiet, carefully measured footsteps of a friend who knows exactly when to slip you out the back door to a world that may not be perfect, but is limitless in its freedom.
The author, best known for his book, ‘All the Light we Cannot See’, takes readers around the world as he introduces them to ordinary human beings - all the while exploring the innermost recesses of their hearts and minds. Perfectly conceptualised and elegantly executed, The Shell Collector is a testimony to Doerr’s brilliant style and his rare talent for conveying emotions in an understated and yet powerful manner.
This is the kind of book you can either devour in the span of a single evening or relish piece by piece over the course of a few months. Whatever be it, don’t forget to add this anthology to your (ever-expanding) TBR list!