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Product Description
Review
'Quite swept me off my feet.' --Lynne Hatwell, Dovegreyreader blog, Feb 25 2009
Review
'A stunning debut collection'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Balancing on the Edge of the World employs a very high standard of writing indeed and I enjoyed it very much. The themes are the relationship between people and the power they hold (or the lack of it) - very human tales indeed. Particular favourites are Condensed Metaphysics (jazzy, edgy and strong), Holding Hands (a powerful tale of family dynamics and frailty - though Baines should have ended it 3 paragraphs earlier as the end line actually appears at the close of the 4th paragraph in from the finish, to my mind), Into the Night (a great erotic encounter which might or might not turn out to be more) and Condundrum (a wry look at child-rearing through the generations). I'd definitely read more of this author.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Baines write stories that demand to be emotionally and philosophically engaged with. Flights of introspective narrative blur the edges of the 'complete picture' with flashes of intense human understanding, rewarding us with a platform to question and react.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It's all too easy for short stories to read as something very slight - either as tales which don't have a strong enough backbone to support a bigger plot, or as bits of poetry in prose form which delight in the rhythm of words over meaning or point. What makes Elizabeth Baines' collection so brilliant - and why, no doubt, it was deservedly nominated recently for an international award - is that she perfectly plays with both the page-turning quality of novel's fiction, and a crafted beauty you usually only associate with verse. These are stories concerned with 'power', in all its forms - whether it be the hilarious tale of a naive screenwriter and the way her fledgeling script is abused by a film course, or the magical superhuman powers of a young child ignored by the numbing reality of parents getting divorced. They're funny, and moving, and thoughtful - but above all, they're short stories which celebrate how beguiling short stories can be. Read and be enchanted.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Fabulous collection
Well, I loved this book. I read a lot of short stories and when this was recommended to me by a friend for its range and variety I bought a copy straight away. Read more
Published on 8 July 2009 by Joe Mall
Short and punchy
Elizabeth Baines's stories show a great grip on the genre. Subjects vary, from amusing to sad, but all are current and punchy. A very nice read.
Published on 30 Jun 2009 by Mike Dale
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