Aphrodite's Hat
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Review
`Well, here's a box of delights...The settings and the smart, articulate protagonists give them all a surface glamour, but underneath that surface the emotional and technical range of this collection is both impressive and delightfully disorientating...Vickers' first collection proves beyond doubt that she's a really good writer' --Guardian
`The psychoanalyst-turned-author is in fine command of the genre as she turns her attention to the complex workings of the human heart...to call them love stories would be too simple a description of the breadth of experience covered...With this collection Vickers proves herself a formidable and astute chronicler of the psychology of love' --Sunday Times
`Brings a new lease of intensity and power to the romantic genre. In her impeccably well-mannered prose Vickers delivers 17 easily digestible tales...Profound and perfect for dipping in and out- it's the ideal addition to your bedside table' --Stylist Magazine
`Deceptively wild, seamlessly well-crafted collection... for any woman who has ever loved there is much, much more here than meets the eye' --Times
`Though she's known for her novels...this elegant collection of short stories proves that she can hold her own in either company..Many carry a lingering, disquieting sense of the supernatural which makes this feel like an ideal book for the onset of winter' --Daily Mail
`She is an engaging writer and this collection of stories sparkles with dry wit and shrewd insights' --Sunday Times
`An assured debut, confidently ranging across moods and voices, and deftly pinpointing the moments when her characters most truly reveal themselves' --The Observer
`Vickers cites Penelope Fitzgerald, Sylvia Townsend Warner and William Maxwell as mentors and one can see their influence on her striving for a light, amusing tone in the face of life's comi-tragedies' --Financial Times
`Offers psychological insights built on Vickers ability to record emotions in flux' --TLS
'Set variously in Venice, Rome, Greece and London, this elegant collection of short stories explores the psychological aspects of love and the complex geography of the human heart.' --S Magazine, Sunday Express
`Superb new collection...she pares things down to the bone, yet still reveals the characters' wider lives and you understand, from their emotions and dilemmas, more about your own.' --Country Life Magazine
`Perfectly tailored with witty twists at the end...the prose is elegant, witty and slightly aloof.'
--Independent
`The psychoanalyst-turned-author is in fine command of the genre as she turns her attention to the complex workings of the human heart...to call them love stories would be too simple a description of the breadth of experience covered...With this collection Vickers proves herself a formidable and astute chronicler of the psychology of love' --Sunday Times
`Brings a new lease of intensity and power to the romantic genre. In her impeccably well-mannered prose Vickers delivers 17 easily digestible tales...Profound and perfect for dipping in and out- it's the ideal addition to your bedside table' --Stylist Magazine
`Deceptively wild, seamlessly well-crafted collection... for any woman who has ever loved there is much, much more here than meets the eye' --Times
`Though she's known for her novels...this elegant collection of short stories proves that she can hold her own in either company..Many carry a lingering, disquieting sense of the supernatural which makes this feel like an ideal book for the onset of winter' --Daily Mail
`She is an engaging writer and this collection of stories sparkles with dry wit and shrewd insights' --Sunday Times
`An assured debut, confidently ranging across moods and voices, and deftly pinpointing the moments when her characters most truly reveal themselves' --The Observer
`Vickers cites Penelope Fitzgerald, Sylvia Townsend Warner and William Maxwell as mentors and one can see their influence on her striving for a light, amusing tone in the face of life's comi-tragedies' --Financial Times
`Offers psychological insights built on Vickers ability to record emotions in flux' --TLS
'Set variously in Venice, Rome, Greece and London, this elegant collection of short stories explores the psychological aspects of love and the complex geography of the human heart.' --S Magazine, Sunday Express
`Superb new collection...she pares things down to the bone, yet still reveals the characters' wider lives and you understand, from their emotions and dilemmas, more about your own.' --Country Life Magazine
`Perfectly tailored with witty twists at the end...the prose is elegant, witty and slightly aloof.'
--Independent
Product Description
A wonderful collection of stories from the much-loved Salley Vickers.
The stories in this long-awaited collection by Salley Vickers all deal with psychological aspects of love: love given and withheld, love craved and lost, love met and disappointed; the differing shades of loves between friends, between parents and children, between children and other adults; love even, in one case, for a pet.
Psychologically acute, sharply written in lucid and often witty prose, these stories, set in Venice, Greece and Rome as well as London and the English countryside, take us into the complex geography of the human heart. Sometimes joyous and humorous, sometimes melancholy and poignant, this collection confirms Salley Vickers' reputation as one of our most subtle and engaging writers.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Magical and Mysterious,
This review is from: Aphrodite's Hat (Hardcover)
Salley Vickers' well-known light touch and shrewd psychological analysis is brilliantly displayed in this collection of stories exploring the theme of love. The theme is captivatingly portrayed in the title story, whose subject, Aphrodite naked but for a wonderful hat in a painting by Cranach, suggestively adorns the cover. The stories are clever, poignant, wise and often disconcerting and strange. Few are about resolved love, many about the gaps, tragedies and pot holes of love. There are several slightly ghostly stories (I especially liked the one about the poet John Keats) and some very funny ones too (Mrs Radinsky about a medium and The Deal about a precocious six-year old getting the better of her parents). But my favourite was The Indian Child where a 'loquacious' Shakespeare meets and talks with his own creations. For those who loved Miss Garnet's Angel this is vintage Vickers beautifully presented and in cracking form.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A collection of real gems,
This review is from: Aphrodite's Hat (Hardcover)
Salley Vickers is one of my favourite novelists so I was delighted to find this, her first collection of short stories. She proves herself to be a master of the form, which seems particularly well suited to her deceptively subtle style. The lightness of touch disguises some sudden dives into depths of emotion, so that the reader is frequently caught off guard by the twist in the tale, as in the clever title story of the collection, or The Buried Life, which is a painfully accurate account of the pitfalls of making new relationships when there are children. But there are happy stories here too, such as the delightful Shakespearian fairy tail, The Indian Child, or the witty Green Bus to St Ives, about an unusual late love affair. Exquisite stuff!
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delightful,
By
This review is from: Aphrodite's Hat (Hardcover)
Having read a number of Salley Vickers books, I always look out for a new one. Usually I am not a short story reader but I was delighted by this book. All the stories have the usual ingredients of Culture, Spirituality and Insight which are a feature of Salley Vickers writing. For those who do not have much time to give to reading but who want to read something meaningful, this is an ideal book. I do hope Salley writes more short stories, I am sure that her professional experience has afforded her a wealth of ideas to draw upon.
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