Backstories

I was lucky enough to receive the audio version of Backstories which was such an enjoyable experience. The different voices for each story added an element of excitement and authenticity helping me ‘set the scene' and add extra clues to who the character was from the very beginning of each chapter. I loved the ‘guess who' element with each new story. Each of the characters are very well known people, some iconic heroes in history and others real monsters. This real mixture of personalities, the different eras in which they spanned and the diversity of nationalities was a great combination. You never really knew what you would find from one story to the next, which definitely kept me entertained and enthralled.

Simon Van der Velde's clever writing and obvious research makes this a quirky and unique book of short stories. Backstories is truly a fun, dynamic ‘game' for adults that will test your knowledge and memory on people in history as well as give you an insight into their lives that you may not be familiar with. A very thought-provoking and engaging book. Highly recommend.