Animals feature heavily, but there is nothing here that might be described as “animal fiction”. Ghosts appear, but not in the ghost stories. Landscapes are written about, but there will be no landscape writing. Fiction empties its seed into its alter ego, nonfiction. Several of the full-sized stories, including “The Crisis”, “Jack of Mercy’s” and “The Old Fox” have never been published before, although you may have heard me read one or two of them at events (including Irradiating the Object at Warwick U, and the notorious Stoke Newington pop-up gig in 2015) several more have appeared online, or in limited or out-of-the-way publications such as The Independent on Sunday, and will therefore be new to most readers.įormal & generic boundaries, as usual, go unrecognised. ‘These stories map a rediscovered fictional hinterland, one tucked behind the glossier edifices of modernity and genre with views down alleyways into pubs and flats where Patrick Hamilton glares balefully at J. Yes they are short stories, but yes the book is a thing in itself. You Should Come With Me Now (Comma Press) features eighteen short stories and numerous items of flash fiction (many of the latter will be recognisable to habitues of the Ambiente Hotel), written between 20 and organised to bring out the themes the way a novel might. ‘The wit and effortless elegance of the writing are impeccable.’
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