about "What Becomes" by A. L. Kennedy

The dozen short stories in A. L. Kennedy's What Becomes depict ordinary people caught navigating a few moments in extraordinary pain. Kennedy's prose is pure, a gentle blend of proper-sounding English and freshly worded insights, and her dialog and breaks are organized efficiently, so the reading goes smoothly. That said, the laser focus on these distracted and emotionally crippled people gets heavy after a few stories, despite a few spliced-in bits of humor. Great for people who want to read sad things.