Helpful Score: 2
Alan Bennett is a nearly new-to- me writer; Ive only had the pleasure of reading his delightful short novel The Uncommon Reader, a fable about the subversive power of reading. Smut consists of two longish short stories, The Greening of Mrs. Donaldson and The Shielding of Mrs. Forbes. Both are about the secrets we keep, the gap between the face we present to the world versus our innermost thoughts and desires. As in The Uncommon Reader Bennett spins his tales with the lightest of touches, with some scenes so laugh-out-loud funny Im sure I disrupted even the ear-budded smart phone thumbing commuters on my train. 3.5 stars
