Do you cover up or reveal it all; seek revenge or just reassurance; let the truth be naked as the day or cloaked in a night-time story? The men and women of Polly Samson's debut fiction all have stories to tell, pasts to forget, futures to forge. Manipulative or meek, used or using, all are aware of the power of truth, deception and little white lies to get what they want or sometimes what they deserve. Some are concerned with the economies of speech, those little 'kindnesses' which protect our loved ones but really ourselves; some investigate the warped logic which adults serve out to children to keep them 'innocent'; all are concerned with the beds we make and the lies we tell in them...
Lying in Bed
and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Special Offer until June 30, 2013: Receive an additional £5 promotional Gift Certificate, when you trade-in at least £10 worth of books. Learn more. |
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Amazon Review
Polly Samson's first collection of short stories reveals a woman steeped in the psychodrama of emotional manipulation. Even the youngest of her narrators are expert in beguiling their parents into a false sense of security, only to spring a fiendishly executed surprise on them which overturns the false assumptions of their adult world. In "Subterfuge", a minx of a teenager hoards lacy knickers at the back of her cupboard whilst meekly offering her navy blue pants to Mum for washing. The ruse is perfect, until sex and drugs rear their ugly head and Mum realises her little madam is a thorn in the family's side and swiftly removes her. Elsewhere, a thirtysomething woman regrets the child she will never have and settles for her childishly demanding husband--an open-ended denouement that hints at the endless mental agony of unfulfilled dreams. Meanwhile, her friend in "The Mermaid's Purse" makes her choice, finds a sperm donor and wreaks havoc in everyone's life but her own. Selfishness pays out, it seems, and the casualties are left to wreak revenge, or suffer in silence. Samson's skill lies in digging beneath that silence to communicate the warped tales we tell ourselves in order to survive. --Lilian Pizzichini
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"haunting and satisfying collection" and say that "the stories disrupt and erupt--just like the relationships so honestly examined within them...It is the stuff that unsettles that makes this collection so deeply touching."--Publishers Weekly
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This is my book of the year (so far). The characters all seem like people I know and I had to keep turning the pages to find out what fates awaited them all. Fantastic descriptions of heartaches and children and love affairs gone awry. Funny, gripping and genuinely moving, I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys serious fiction that doesn't take itself too seriously.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
I have just finished reading Polly Samson's Lying in Bed and I think that her stories are as good as any I've ever read. Margaret Atwood and Helen Simpson have always been my favourite short story writers and now I must add Polly Samson to the list. The way she treats sex and love is so well-observed and spikey that I had to keep reading passages aloud to my friends and I agree with the reviewers who compare her to Roald Dahl: there's always a sting in the tale. I recommend this book to anyone.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Dizzydays
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Samson's descriptions are a little "writing class". I think she still needs to learn how to make sure that the descriptions don't distract from the story. For example, one character was described as having eyes like mussels, and I took a 30 second break to think what she could possibly have meant by that...
however, the stories and the sentiments are brilliant. Quite biting, with bordering-on-macabre twists. Good fun to read, especially for women. I'm planning on reading her other two books on the strength of this.
however, the stories and the sentiments are brilliant. Quite biting, with bordering-on-macabre twists. Good fun to read, especially for women. I'm planning on reading her other two books on the strength of this.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was so impressed by Polly Sampson's most recent book of short stories that I ordered the back catalogue. The first story in this book has an event so shocking I gasped out loud, well almost, on the bus. Don't miss it.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I very much liked this book. The stories are intelligent and rather quirky, and I was vaguely reminded of O. Henry more than once. I get the feeling that Polly Samson is sharing a good bit of herself in these stories, and after reading them, I would love to meet her.
By Helen
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
A book of great stories with a twist. Dipped in an our while on holiday. A good read, but nothing exciting .
4 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I actually threw this book accross the room because it annoyed me so much.
These short stories did absolutely nothing for me. Was this just an excercise for Polly Samson to show us what a 'weaver of words' she is? It is true to say that her grip of the English language is wide but does that mean we should all be ransacking thesaurus every few minutes.
Not one of these stories had a story to tell. There were no beginninings, middles or ends and I came away feeling cheated.
It took all I could muster to begin the last story 'Lucky' and I could have thrown my hands in the air and thanked god because here, finally was the real talent that Polly Samson had threatened to unveil from page one.
'Lucky' was beautifully written and captured me from the first line: You always look like Caesar in the bath.
If you buy Lying In Bed then skip straight to page 201 (hardback)because you won't be missing much before then.
As an end note, I also have to say that I have since read Out Of The Picture, Polly's second book and I would rate it as one of the top five books of all time. I would even suggest it as a Pulitzer Prize nominee.
Stick to the novels Polly.
1 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
The only story worth reading is the last one, "Lucky". It is completely unlike the others because it is obviously based on true events in her life. It is a wonderful story that reveals her gift, not for formulating stories, but for telling them. This story was the promise of literary greatness that was realized in her second book "Out of the Picture", also clearly based on actual events with slight modifications. She has a special talent, it's just not for writing fiction.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 5 reviews
3.8 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
