A review by bookishlibrarian
Company by Shannon Sanders

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This debut collection of interconnected short stories was a delightful read spent time "in company" with various members of the Collins family, a Black middle class family. Most of the stories revolve around visits or gatherings of some kind--holidays, funerals, work events. The characters are all well-drawn, especially their interactions with each other, steeped in patterns and shared history and inside jokes. Many center around the theme of inheritance, both in terms of stories, traits, and, in one of my favorite stories "Dragonflies", actual objects passed down. The interconnected aspect of the stories lets you see some characters from different vantage points depending on whose perspective carries the story--most effectively in a pairing of two other favorite stories "Bird of Paradise" and "La Belle Hottentote". Both take place at the same outdoor party celebrating an aunt's promotion to dean at her college, but one story centers the aunt's story as a professional having to endure a lot to rise in her profession, and the other story from the perspective of her four nieces in attendance, from another generation, who have different expectations and views for themselves. Other favorite stories were "The Gatekeepers", "Rioja", "Mote"-this one had a great unexpected ending-, and "The Everest Society."