Laughter Class: And Other Stories - Hardcover

Perriam, Wendy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0709081073 ISBN 13: 9780709081074

Verlag: Robert Hale Ltd, 2006

Über diesen Titel

Críticas

"'One of the finest and funniest writers to emerge in England since Kingsley Amis.' Herald Tribune 'Perriam is a writer of authority and skill, with a wicked ear for conversational quirks.' Sunday Times 'Perriam is a skilled and sympathetic observer of contemporary life... Intelligent and accessible, she writes beautifully about relationships and hilariously about sex.' Sunday Telegraph Critical acclaim for Virgin In the Gym and other stories 'In an oeuvre of nearly 20 books, she has proved a consistently sharp chronicler of modern Britain. She is also an extremely entertaining storyteller. The 20-odd tales that make up Virgin In the Gym are as crisply delivered as they are elegantly structured. The best of the stories are models of the form, bringing humdrum lives into brilliant focus as events take an unexpected twist. As so often with Perriam - and this is a large part of her appeal - you do not know whether to laugh or cry.' Sunday Telegraph 'These 21 short stories confirm Perriam as both clever and funny, as well as being a skilled artist with something to say about life. This is an author who has learned how to face the world and tame the horrors of life: we should be grateful for her optimism - it is infectious. Perriam is such a good writer, and this collection of short stories will offer a useful way into her longer fiction for the uninitiated.' The Tablet"

Reseña del editor

In this, her third collection of short stories, Perriam explores the secrets and lies that entangle people's lives; the dreams and disappointments we often choose to hide. Many of the characters are struggling for release, seeking an escape from rules, restrictions, confinement or control. This freedom is achieved in surprisingly diverse ways - through the companionship of a plush pink laughing pig, or the succour of a stray mongrel abandoned in the street, or by the chance encounter in a charity shop of two desperate brides-to-be. The age-span is similarly diverse, ranging from a teenage girl, determined to disengage herself from her coercive mother's custody, to an intrepid octogenarian who hitchhikes up to Inverness, to avoid the dreaded prospect of stair-lifts and grim wardens in a sheltered housing complex. Food is a recurring theme. One woman resigns her job to concentrate full-time on eating; another stockpiles chocolate HobNobs for her flatful of tame mice; a third gorges herself on grapes, to fill her drab existence with pulsating purple passion. The fact that this feast is imaginary does nothing to dilute its power. In Perriam's world, fantasy is highly therapeutic. Her quirky but courageous characters build gingerbread houses or castles in the air, to fill holes in their lives. Many battle with fears and vulnerabilities, or with the absence of long-lost partners, yet still search, heroically, for love. As in her novels, Perriam probes both the angst and absurdity of the human condition, combining dark incisive humour with a deep compassion for the 'lost souls' she depicts.

Über diese Auflage

• Verlag: Robert Hale Ltd
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0709081073
• ISBN 13: 9780709081074
• Einband: Tapa dura
• Auflage: 1
• Anzahl der Seiten: 224