- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; New edition edition (7 Jun 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140286365
- ISBN-13: 978-0140286366
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 262,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Helen Dunmore has been described as one of England's "most accomplished literary talents", a writer of extraordinary skill and scope (her third novel, A Spell of Winter, was awarded the Orange Prize for fiction in 1996). The 18 stories included in Ice Cream, Dunmore's second collection of short stories, represent a genuine diversity of viewpoint, period and theme. The opening story, "My Polish Teacher's Tie", is one of the strongest: "I wear a uniform, blue overall and white cap with the school logo on it. Part-time catering staff, that's me, £3.49 per hour." "Me" is Carla Carter, the dinner lady who, to the surprise of the "teachers"--the division between teachers and those who wait on them is keenly observed here--is going to strike up a friendship with a visiting Polish poet. It's a recurring theme: love, or friendship, that comes as a surprise to someone. In "Lilac", a young girl watches her cousin, Tommy, kissing his best friend, Henrik; in "Choosing", the unexpected kiss between two women transports two friends to a new, yet familiar, place: "How did they get here?" There are other surprises--some funny, some anxious--in these explorations of women's lives and experiences. "Leonardo, Michelangelo, SuperStork" is an unsettling vision of pregnancy in a world governed by the ruthless imposition of the ante-natal clinics and the "Genetic Code"; "TheKiwi-Fruit Arbour" explores the language of pregnancy--"Pregnant. Not pregnant. Mother-to-be. Young girl with her life in front of her"--through the eyes of a working-class teenage girl whose young lover comes from a "good" family.
Living up to Dunmore's reputation for originality, accessibility and flair, Ice Cream is a welcome addition to her fiction. --Vicky Lebeau
Review
"* 'A talent to rival Chekhov... a few of the stories are enough to make you laugh out loud; even more are enough to make you weep (for the right reasons)' Sunday Express * 'Cool, elegant and beautifully controlled, the stories in Ice Cream display Dunmore's virtuosity and command of language... this is storytelling stripped to essentials: a series of images that flicker in the mind's eye long after the page has been turned' Independent on Sunday * 'She is a writer who can wrap up artifice in plain, straightforward speech, and evoke summers in the midst of winters of discontent. In these and other particulars, she has proved herself a strong contender for future prizes' Anita Brookner, Spectator"
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
I wear a uniform, blue overall and white cap with the school logo on it. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
I wear a uniform, blue overall and white cap with the school logo on it. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stories that reveal a poet's eye,
By A Customer
This review is from: Ice Cream (Hardcover)
Dunmore's second collection of short stories shows just how much her writing has matured since her first, Love of Fat Men. Not only does she write like a dream, with a practised poet's skill in always lighting upon the arresting image, she also has the poet's gift of observation. These stories are minatures of love, loss and unregarded affection. I especially loved the title story. A book to be read slowly, and savoured.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
thought provoking, innovative and fresh,
By Cherry (England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Ice Cream (Paperback)
This book is a collection of short stories about a range of subjects from love to babies. The stories are all fresh and inspirational. I can't even pick a favourite as they are all good. This may be your first Helen Dunmore book, but it will not be your last.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Intense, haunting stories,
By Star_Sea "Xing" (Salisbury, England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Ice Cream (Paperback)
This collection showcases Helen Dunmore's ability to capture characters and worlds with her intense and lyrical words. The title story is a gorgeous and evocative tale of giving into temptation, while other subjects include pregnancy, family tragedy and the collision of different worlds. Fans of her previous short story collection, "Love of Fat Men", will be glad to see the reappearance of Ulli and her intriguing lifestyle, although she only gets two stories here.
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