Her Mouth Looked Like a Cat's Bum

Matthew Ward
World Audience, Inc. (2006)
ISBN 1934209201
Reviewed by Kylee Yeaman for Reader Views (2/07)

“Her Mouth Looked Like a Cat’s Bum,” - funny title, good book. “Her Mouth …” is a collection of short stories by Australian author, Matthew Ward. Not all of the stories are funny in the classic sense. There are a few, “Bathrobes,” “Take Your Revenge,” “Sinus Cider” and “The System” in particular, which are funny in a bizarre sort of way, a “Twilight Zone” sort of way. The one small drawback to this book for me was the use of local (Aussie) slang. Some words were easily figured out by using the context of the sentences, others were not so easily figured out which left me a little confused during some parts of some stories.

This book is definitely for adults as there are a few semi-racy scenes. My favorite story in the book is the one titled “Robbery in the Suburbs.” “The middle-aged man wearing a suit falls to the concrete as he uses the auto-teller. He is told to do so and not to move by a man holding court with 6-foot-2 and a sawn-off. The auto-teller guy with hands behind head, and red plastic twenties Charles Kingsford-Smith engraved looking chugga-chugga-chugga hanging in the breeze.”

I would very much enjoy reading more by Matthew Ward. He’s got a good sense of pace and builds great characters. As mentioned above my only issue was that some of the Australian slang was difficult for figure out.

Anyone who enjoys wit, a plot with twists and turns, and strange, but likeable characters will enjoy this collection of short stories by Matthew Ward titled “Her Mouth Looked Like a Cat’s Bum.” Some stories are only a couple of pages long, some are fifteen or more.

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