Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jul 2009
240 pages
Genre: Short Stories
Publication Information
The stories in this remarkable collection are vibrant and gripping. James Lasdun's great gift is his unfailing psychological instinct for the vertiginous moments when the essence of a life discloses itself. With forensic skill he exposes his characters' hidden desires and fears, drawing back the folds of their familiar self-delusions, their images of themselves, their habits and routines, to reveal their interior lives with brilliant clarity.
In sharply evoked settings that range from the wilds of Northern Greece to the beaches of Cape Cod, these intensely dramatic tales chart the metamorphoses of their characters as they fall prey to the full range of human passions. They rise to unexpected heights of decency, stumble into comic or tragic folly. They throw themselves open to lust, longing, and paranoia, but they are always recognizably mirrors of our own conflicted selves.
As James Wood has written, "James Lasdun seems to me to be one of the secret gardens of English writing ... When we read him we know what language is for." This collection of haunting, richly humane pieces is further proof of the powers of an enormously inventive writer.
"Jewels of resignation and transformative personal disaster, these stories are written so simply and cleanly that the formidable craft looks effortless." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. Merits comparison with the understated artistry of William Trevor or Graham Swift." - Kirkus Reviews
"Starred Review. Affecting, yes; sentimental, no. Hard-edged truths about our predicament poke through this work, which is highly recommended." - Library Journal
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
James Lasdun was born in London and now lives in upstate New York. He has published two previous collections of stories, three books of poetry, and two novels, including The Horned Man, which was a New York Times Notable Book. His story "The Siege" was the basis for the Bernardo Bertolucci film Besieged.
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