Because I Don't Know What You Mean and What You Don't

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About ten years ago I spoke to Canongate and said I would love to do this and they were so supportive but it took me another three years before I actually started. Like overhearing excerpts from relatable people’s lives in a cafe, this was a pleasure to listen to - maybe a bit of a council estate Bennet Talking Heads for the next generation, and better? As well as gigging all over the UK, Eleanor has provided tour support for Josie Long, Tony Law, Frankie Boyle, Stewart Francis and Lost Voice Guy.

Peppered with the acclaimed comedian's trademark warmth and wit, the stories collected in Because I don't know what you mean and what you don't feature quirky, richly drawn characters and delightfully unpredictable plotlines. It's the ability to create an authentic voice, and the way she can infuse a story with anger, heartache, heartbreak and wonder, all at the same time. I found this short story collection (of sixteen) to be just alright and wouldn’t really recommend it on the whole. All told, much of this is reasonably readable (thanks, Lady Margaret, Oxford) but at the same time some stories just seemed to be taking me nowhere other than the skip button.It’s been amazing to draw on my life, use the pain of it, the joy of it… A few of the stories are about people who aren’t quite able to understand what it is they’re doing and why until it’s too late. I like it so much better than when she found improv, and talked to everyone about how life was also improv, and kept discussing the details and rules of specific improv games to me until I felt like a coward for not shouting that I do not and will not ever give a f*** about improv”. It's a book I'll read again - if you know Josie Long as a comedian, don't go into this one expecting laughs. The lack of autonomy for the narrator in stories such as the Kafkaesque “Just An Informal Chat” and the quietly heart-breaking “Grandad” is another recurring theme. The writing and Long’s craft does leave a little to be desired with some more editing having been beneficial.

Even the title of the collection has a kind of performative quality – say it aloud and it seems easy enough – but you can’t exactly say it like What We Talk About When We Talk About Love or All The Good People I’ve Left Behind. But it's also a pure encapsulation of her politics: at heart it's a book of frustration about the social inequalities and environmental catastrophes of late capitalism, and how these play out in our intimate lives, shading our sexual, personal or familial relations. The first three pieces follow a schoolgirl who hates her body and her family, talking up her occult powers to get in with the cool kids; the poisonous inanity of a neighbourhood WhatsApp group during lockdown; and a woman bringing her new partner to a party where everyone else seems to have their lives much more together, "Salads on the table like nothing I've ever made myself.I'd highly recommend Because I Don't Know What You Mean and What You Don't, especially if you're after a dark and intriguing collection of short stories which make you think. We zoom into someone's life, stay with them for a short period and then fly off to see someone else's life.