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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
A humane and gentle joy, 31 Jan 2000
By A Customer
Gordon Legge is not as well known as some of the Scottish lit pack. This is a shame because Legge has produced some fine modern fiction, and his writing has a humanity and gentle wit that the writing of Irvine Welsh and others lacks. Legge is particularly comfortable in the short story form, and this collection of short stories is masterful.From the titles (such joys as "At last, a story about my bike" and "When I heard about the Mars Bar the shop was shut") through each carefully chosen word Legge is a writer to watch. His vignettes of life are like small paintings chronicling the existence of his characters. Legge also seems to like, if not love, his characters, the sort of people often ignored by literature. His humour stems from the character and we do not laugh at those who populate his stories. We laugh with them. Particularly impressive is his Life on A Scottish Council estate. Legge's later work grows steadily more assured, and in this collection and in his collection "Near Neighbours" has some beautiful stories which remind this reader of a Scottish Raymond Carver. There can be no higher praise
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