'Angela Johnson has cast her dispassionate artist's eye over pivotal childhood and early adult memories to bring them to life in No Stories No Songs. The setting of the first series of short stories in this collection is the gritty streets and houses of North Carlton, long before their gentrification. The content is intimate 'snapshots' of how poverty framed and constrained the lives and relationships of families for decades following the Great Depression. The writing is crisp, colourful and particular; each character so convincing that the reader can't resist volunteering empathy and taking them by the hand.' (Book blurb)
