Akhil Sharma’s ‘Cosmopolitan’ is a story of overlaps, or perhaps, multitudes. Part of the Faber Stories series – celebrating 90 years of their publishing – ‘Cosmopolitan’ is a piece that speaks to numerous intertwined narratives. As the synopsis will tell us, ‘Gopal Maurya’s wife has left him, preferring to seek enlightenment in an ashram in
Quite often there are times when I feel lucky that I got to read a certain story. Maybe once or twice a month, I read something that makes pause, perhaps not in awe, but in true appreciation of another’s work. ‘An Elegy for Easterly’ by Petina Gappah is that story. I confess I’ve yet to
Though I do love crime and have read a fair bit of it, I had to confess that I had never read P. D. James until I was sent the exquisitely tight and suspenseful “The Victim”. Some can pack quite a bit in, in just a few pages it would seem. What great talent P.D.
The theme of sexual awakening and desire has been explored since the dawn of literature; through the works of Nabokov, Flaubert, Shakespeare, Laclos, Sade, Sagan or Colette to name but a few (90% French, I notice, as I type. Maybe we are a sex-obsessed nation after all). When I found out that Djuna Barnes was
What can be decided in a few moments that will not be questioned for a lifetime? Mrs. Fox by Sarah Hall is one of the many short stories that has been given the Faber makeover this year in a collection that is first celebrating the 90th anniversary of Faber & Faber – but most importantly
I’ve been a fan of Robert Aickman for a number of years now after I was introduced to his work at university. And I’ve often returned to his stories at random moments, my subconscious usually looking for something a little bit off kilter. To read something weird. That is Aickman’s forte. ‘The Inner Room’ is
There is a consistence sense of rootlessness and exploration in Edna O’Brien’s short story ‘Paradise’. Though I confess I have not read any of her other work before [this will soon change], in researching the piece, and from my own thoughts, ‘Paradise’ is a moment of transition for the writer – she takes herself from
An accomplished writer, of that there is no doubt, Kazuo Ishiguro’s short story ‘Come Rain or Come Shine’ is a piece that speaks differently than his other work. It’s not the dystopian fiction of ‘Never Let Me Go’ nor is it quite like his 1989 novel ‘The Remains of the Day’. Here he branches into
How brilliant it is to get to review a book about a train journey, whilst on the train journey. Though I do hope my journey’s ending isn’t as unsettling as the one in Mary Ventura and the 9th Kingdom. As I type, I notice with mounting horror that the person next to me is repeatedly
I just read Dante and the Lobster over coffee and an unnecessarily large amount of mini flapjacks. Now that I’m nicely buzzed on caffeine and sugar I won’t hold off telling you how brilliant it is. I might even insist that you read it, READ IT NOW. It is delightful. Lighthearted in its tone, and
