In an English seaside town, lovers and children, young men and middle-aged women, weave in and out of each other's lives and stories. A mother is tormented by her daughter's tattoo; another only pretends to love her baby. A wife stalks her husband and his new lover; a broken egg through a letterbox tells a story that will not go away; the cat thinks he knows best. Threaded throughout are longings for love and poignant disappointments, surprising pleasures and temptations. Some will fall but some, like the small boy at the circus who sees his babysitter fly past on a trapeze wearing little more than a blue bra and spangles, will retain their feeling of awe. PERFECT LIVES, follows Polly Samson's rapturously received first collection, LYING IN BED. They are rueful, knowing, witty, poignant, bashful, bold. Her genius is in the nuance.
Perfect Lives
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`Accomplished . . . Focusing, sometimes comically, sometimes compassionately, on apparently prospering, well-organised and contented people, Samson traces tremors of disruption threatening the stability of her characters' relationships and themselves' --Peter Kemp, Sunday Times, Books of the Year
'A collection of short stories that makes you invent excuses to retire to a private place for a quick injection of reading' --Bella Freud, Evening Standard, Books of the Year
`Perfect Lives links together various characters in the same town in a narrative daisy chain that allows the reader to know Samson's characters better perhaps than they know themselves. A breezy, artless writer, Samson is mercilessly accurate at lampooning middle class self-deception' --Metro, Books of the Year
'Terrific. Funny, beautifully observed and often poignant, they're the best thing Samson has produced yet . . . This is a writer who misses nothing' --Cressida Connolly, Spectator, Books of the Year
'Subtle and complex . . . Perfect Lives is an echo chamber of cause and effect, and art and life, and life and loss' --Carole Cadwalladr, Observer
'A collection of short stories that makes you invent excuses to retire to a private place for a quick injection of reading' --Bella Freud, Evening Standard, Books of the Year
`Perfect Lives links together various characters in the same town in a narrative daisy chain that allows the reader to know Samson's characters better perhaps than they know themselves. A breezy, artless writer, Samson is mercilessly accurate at lampooning middle class self-deception' --Metro, Books of the Year
'Terrific. Funny, beautifully observed and often poignant, they're the best thing Samson has produced yet . . . This is a writer who misses nothing' --Cressida Connolly, Spectator, Books of the Year
'Subtle and complex . . . Perfect Lives is an echo chamber of cause and effect, and art and life, and life and loss' --Carole Cadwalladr, Observer
About the Author
Polly Samson was born in London. Her previous collection, Lying in Bed, was followed by a novel, Out of the Picture. She also writes lyrics.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
This collection of short stories burrows beneath the surface of other people's lives. The first story 'The Egg' introduces us to Celia Idlewild, who seems to have everything; perfect life; perfect house; perfect children as well as the most exquisite grand piano.(Pianos feature a lot in this collection.) Only, the more we read, the more we see that happiness and perfection is only a thin veneer coating the reality of her life. (Even the splendid piano has a dark secret.) Subsequent stories introduce us to people whose lives touch those of the Idlewilds.There's Richard, now a piano tuner, whose crippling stage-fright destroyed a promising career as a concert pianist and the woman he meets whose love of her wreck of an old piano, alters his perspective on perfection. We also meet people he has known in the past and see life through their eyes. In other stories the author peels away the layers of a humdrum marriage but also reveals its close intimacy.She is particularly adept as showing us how children think and feel of the way adults behave. In every story, the more that is stripped away, the more detail is added to these people's live, so much so that I immediately had to go back to the beginning and reread each story.
Polly Samson's prose has a deceptively light touch, which to me is the mark of a great writer. She tells you all you need to know without labouring the point. If you like your fiction spare; fiction that requires readers to make the connections for themselves, then 'Perfect Lives' is for you. Sometimes bleak, but ultimately uplifting, these stories remind us of the eternal resilience of the human spirit.
Polly Samson's prose has a deceptively light touch, which to me is the mark of a great writer. She tells you all you need to know without labouring the point. If you like your fiction spare; fiction that requires readers to make the connections for themselves, then 'Perfect Lives' is for you. Sometimes bleak, but ultimately uplifting, these stories remind us of the eternal resilience of the human spirit.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By Eleanor
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
In this collection of short stories, Samson focuses on the emotional lives and relationships of a loosely-connected group of middle-class people, all having some association with an English seaside town.
This is very cleverly done, with someone who was previously a main character appearing later as a walk-on part in someone else's life, and vice-versa. For example, we see the same woman through the eyes of a shy piano tuner in one story and her over-critical mother in another. Neither portrayal gives the whole picture, but taken together a character emerges. This mirrors real life, with all the various roles people assume and the various biased positions from which they are viewed. The recurring cast of characters has a cumulative effective; for example, in the first line of 'Ivan Knows', a story appearing near the end of the collection, the reader's enjoyment is increased, and curiosity piqued, by their knowing who both Ivan and Lucy are:
"Ivan almost choked on his candyfloss when he saw Laura Idlewild flying past in her blue bra."
The solipsism of the teenager wittily and accurately described in 'At Arka Pana' is offset by the reader's knowledge of her mother's assessment of her in 'Leaving Hamburg', and it is a joy to meet the afore-mentioned Ivan in 'Ivan Knows', having only seen him fleetingly as a small child in other stories. Themes as well as characters recur, being picked up and examined from all sides, and I think this is a book that will repay re-reading.
The stories include first person and third person narration, with one of the best, 'The Birthday Present', being addressed to a 'you' with whom the narrator is obsessed. The identity of the addressee is witheld, although its nature gradually dawns on the reader. Although this might seem tricksy (and another story, 'At Arka Pana', plays a similar game) by the time the reader is made aware of the object of infatuation their passion equals that of the narrator.
I didn't warm to this book immediately, and in retrospect I think the first story is one of the weakest, with the style appearing too mannered and the subject matter and its relation to the title 'Perfect Lives' rather cliched. But reading on, Samson's wit, unflinching eye, and gift for characterization meant I was soon absorbed; and I closed the book feeling uplifted, having had a glimpse into the lives of a group of people, which although not perfect, have moments approaching perfection.
This is very cleverly done, with someone who was previously a main character appearing later as a walk-on part in someone else's life, and vice-versa. For example, we see the same woman through the eyes of a shy piano tuner in one story and her over-critical mother in another. Neither portrayal gives the whole picture, but taken together a character emerges. This mirrors real life, with all the various roles people assume and the various biased positions from which they are viewed. The recurring cast of characters has a cumulative effective; for example, in the first line of 'Ivan Knows', a story appearing near the end of the collection, the reader's enjoyment is increased, and curiosity piqued, by their knowing who both Ivan and Lucy are:
"Ivan almost choked on his candyfloss when he saw Laura Idlewild flying past in her blue bra."
The solipsism of the teenager wittily and accurately described in 'At Arka Pana' is offset by the reader's knowledge of her mother's assessment of her in 'Leaving Hamburg', and it is a joy to meet the afore-mentioned Ivan in 'Ivan Knows', having only seen him fleetingly as a small child in other stories. Themes as well as characters recur, being picked up and examined from all sides, and I think this is a book that will repay re-reading.
The stories include first person and third person narration, with one of the best, 'The Birthday Present', being addressed to a 'you' with whom the narrator is obsessed. The identity of the addressee is witheld, although its nature gradually dawns on the reader. Although this might seem tricksy (and another story, 'At Arka Pana', plays a similar game) by the time the reader is made aware of the object of infatuation their passion equals that of the narrator.
I didn't warm to this book immediately, and in retrospect I think the first story is one of the weakest, with the style appearing too mannered and the subject matter and its relation to the title 'Perfect Lives' rather cliched. But reading on, Samson's wit, unflinching eye, and gift for characterization meant I was soon absorbed; and I closed the book feeling uplifted, having had a glimpse into the lives of a group of people, which although not perfect, have moments approaching perfection.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
This collection of short but sometimes connected stories by Polly Samson reveals the dramas and tragedies that lie beneath apparently perfect middle class lives. The writing is good and flows well - it is quite dense - every word is carefully chosen and so demands close reading. Samson shows herself to be adept at weaving drama and tension into this mode of storytelling. Characters and motifs recur and the whole collection generates an aura of sadness and disatisfaction which is rather haunting. I loved the story "Remote Control" which is about a woman and her cat's observations of family life. "The Man Across The River" is a tale of a mother perturbed by memories of an incident in her childhood. There is much more besides. I'm not usually a fan of short stories, but these were interesting and memorable, and definitely worth a look.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not much to add
I found this collection too slight to be of consequence. The characters were very forgettable and samey and it was hard to sympathise with their problems. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Miss Smith
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good short stories
Well written short stories, with interesting characters and locations. I love the little links between each one, and look forward to more from the same author.
Published 17 months ago by Helen
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very nice surprise
I actually bought this book on a whim because it fell under the "Customers who bought this book also bought......." without first reading the reviews. Read more
Published 21 months ago by R. C. S
3.0 out of 5 stars
A book about middle class women, for middle class women
A set of 11 intertwining short stories about (upper) middle class people in England - they seem perfect on the outside but underneath they are not. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Dizzydays
5.0 out of 5 stars
A real find
A wonderfully enjoyable book of short stories which are self contained but inter connected. The stories are about modern people, families, their interactions and every day lives. Read more
Published on 6 Mar 2011 by Four Violets
3.0 out of 5 stars
OK, but...
This is a set of short stories, loosely linked by some of the characters. The individual voices did not come across particularly well, but some of the mind pictures worked for... Read more
Published on 9 Feb 2011 by R. F. Stevens
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Pleasing Read - even though nothing really happens.
I took this book on a cruise to to laze away the hours. It worked. The book of short stories of middle class lives that sometimes inter-connect is an o.k. affair. Read more
Published on 3 Feb 2011 by Mr Paul Savory
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not perfect...
Polly Samson's new collection of short stories are all set in the same English seaside town and feature the same recurring characters. Read more
Published on 22 Jan 2011 by Charliecat
4.0 out of 5 stars
Looking Behind the Curtain
Polly Sansom is so good at looking at and recording the thoughts and dreams of people as they try to make sense of their lives. Read more
Published on 20 Jan 2011 by Richard M. Seel
3.0 out of 5 stars
A curate's egg
This is the second short story collection I've read lately that was themed in some way. In Colm Toibin's "The Empty Family" the stories were linked by theme and to some extent by... Read more
Published on 17 Jan 2011 by Sheenagh Pugh
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