Description

An extraordinary collection of short stories from the Man Booker prize longlisted author of HYSTOPIA.

In the tradition of Raymond Carver or Tobias Wolff, these are all-encompassing stories of the American psyche, of love and loss and of the landscape and its people.

A goldfish circles in its bowl, refusing to die, becoming the silent focus of a difficult family life; a pianist loses his talents as he is forced to question the meaning of love and commitment. Through a blend of lyricism and humour, these stories of ordinary human dilemmas take flight and become mythical and universal. David Means is a rare writer who transports us to the heart of what it is to be human.

Publisher Review

`Means evokes a deep, troubling pathos without a speck of sentimentality. The same could be said of his work in general ... Means is a fine writer, superior to many of his more famous contemporaries ... His prose is now reliably well-judged, often masterful' Michel Faber, Guardian`Means weaves punchy tales that arrive straight at the violent heart of a relationship. He writes in `A Visit From Jesus': "The World, this world this great country of his, could eat anything, absolutely anything up." Means shows us, with intense honesty, just how this is done' Carl Wilkinson, Observer`The short story is Mean's natural medium: in his hands it seems as elemental a form as the landscape from which he patiently carves it - he takes you to places you don't want to visit, but makes you understand why you have to go there' Daily Telegraph.`Short stories is a form at which he excels. Reading these stories is like being resensitised, woken up to the astonishing possibilities of language' The Sunday Business Post