- Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; New edition edition (25 Jan 1996)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140247114
- ISBN-13: 978-0140247114
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 337,913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
Nicholas Lezard, Guardian
‘have a satiric focus and punch absent from the rest of the contemporary scene’
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'Try these short stories which, at their best, have a satiric focus and punch absent from the rest of the contemporary scene' Nicholas Lezard, Guardian 'A beautiful collection of Nathaniel West-ish tales which manage to combine the quirky stylistic devices which we know and love from The Quantity Theory of Insanity ... with a chilling moral diagnosis of all that is wrong with our society' Financial Times 'A perversely colourful, delightful triumph' Time Out 'The stories are at times funny, at times bizarre, at times caustic, but always readable' Daily Telegraph
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A conspiracy theory is revealed where the entire population of London are really pawns in an intricate game between godlike players; The Indian Mutiny is re-enacted in a classroom triggering the mental breakdown of a teacher; everyone in London is a frustrated would-be novelist; a philosopher explores the nature of sexual freedom; a man loses his sense of scale as he becomes hopelessly entwined with the concept of the motorway; in a dystopian near-future England the fog-bound poor cough themselves to death while the rich look on; time is frozen in the mundane repetition of office life for a secretary; a new bee-mite derived anti-depressant drug trial goes horribly wrong; and the culture of expressing emotional problems leads to the mass break-up of relationships.
As with the vast majority of anthologies, this batch of nine short stories from Will Self is slightly variable in quality, but all the tales are peppered with the authors startling and often hilarious use of language, and when the concepts match the prose the results are startling. A couple of pieces (including oddly enough the title story) are a little too aimless for my tastes, but the dizzying trilogy of 'Scale', 'Chest' and 'Inclusion' are stunning enough to warrant the price alone.
A little bitty, but more often brilliant than not.
As with the vast majority of anthologies, this batch of nine short stories from Will Self is slightly variable in quality, but all the tales are peppered with the authors startling and often hilarious use of language, and when the concepts match the prose the results are startling. A couple of pieces (including oddly enough the title story) are a little too aimless for my tastes, but the dizzying trilogy of 'Scale', 'Chest' and 'Inclusion' are stunning enough to warrant the price alone.
A little bitty, but more often brilliant than not.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the perfect book to dip into just before bedtime. A collection of about 10 stories, each putting a unique twist on modern life. Grey Area, a chilling expose of the office grind, and Inclusion®, all about a mysterious drug trial, are my favourites- both willfully subversive and un-put-downable.
Altogether a very different and intriguing collection of stories that will keep you hooked the very end!
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This collection of short stories was so brilliant, it took my breath away. I agree with the last reviewer that Self's stories are better than his novels. And I think of all his short story collections, this is the best. It is dazzling but also Self at his most accessible and readable.
It's quite difficult to describe the stories. They are so original and unusual and inventive, you wonder where the hell Self got his inspiration (or perhaps that is a naive question!). You must buy this book now, it's brilliant!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
excellent book
If you like Will Self stuff, you will like this a lot. It is funny, slighly disturbing, but a great read.
Published 8 months ago by temperson
Self Loathing
Whilst I am a fan of Will Self's work, I simply found this set of 10 short stories frustrating.
There is no denying the fact that Self has a talent at coming up with... Read more
There is no denying the fact that Self has a talent at coming up with... Read more
Published 17 months ago by OldScotland
one of my favourite books...
wow - i love this book - i always feel that Self is at his best in the short story genre (his novels tend to be overlong and waffly) - put simply, if you are thinking about buying... Read more
Published on 17 Sep 1999
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