Catherine Smith is an award-winning poet whose books The Butcher's Hands and Lip were both shortlisted for the prestigious Forward Prize. The stories in The Biting Point, her long-awaited first prose collection, are unpredictable, edgy and often surprisingly funny, charting the dark territory underlying seemingly ordinary lives. They explore the lies we tell each other, and ourselves, with unsettling results. A woman falls apart as she prepares for her secret lover's funeral... A child builds a magical sandcastle as her parents' marriage crumbles... A young woman confesses to her part in a catastrophically cruel childhood stunt... A love-struck teenager's driving lesson reveals a devastating gap between fantasy and reality... Catherine Smith's writing is always pin-sharp, unsentimental and insightful. Her stories delight in human possibility and complexity.
The Biting Point
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a fascinating collection of short stories - each one a gem. Each one takes you into someone else's life. The first line immediately makes you want to read on. Beautifully written, concise, not a word wasted. A neat little volume to carry around with you, to transport you to another world whenever you have a moment to immerse yourself in a story.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By MJ
Format:Paperback
The Biting Point is a bold, blistering portrayal of human nature; its twelve short stories crackle with tension as Catherine Smith explores the unsettling aspects of humanity without ever losing compassion. The writing is a joy, perceptive, confident, mortifying and delicious, direct and humorous, her pitch and pace perfect. Here you'll meet characters so complex and so beautifully flawed they'll stay with you long after you've finished this wonderful book which I can't recommend enough. Buy two, give one to a friend, they'll love you for it.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By susan utting
Format:Paperback
I started reading The Biting Point quite late one night. Each time I finished a story, I'd think "just one more, then I'll turn out the light.". The night turned into a non-stop greedy read - all of them in one go! Each character is perfectly drawn, singular but recognizable, their situation intriguingly original but everyday believable. There's a humanity underpinning Catherine Smith's subtly stylish writing which allows us to identify with her characters, however misguided, disturbed or disturbing they are, however heart-breaking, or laughable, the stories they tell. I was beguiled and moved, sometimes to tears, but ultimately uplifted by this collection of pitch-perfect short stories.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling, unsettling and urgent
Read the volume in one sitting (or lying - needed to sleep but this volume snapped me awake). It has wit and pace. Am recommending it consistently to my friends. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mrs T Crilly
5.0 out of 5 stars
Catherine the Great.
I discovered Catherine's poetry by accident. Although we are unrelated, we are both Smith's and this was the only reason I chose to read her first poetry book-The Butchers... Read more
Published 15 months ago by K D Smith
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