This anthology brings together seven short stories by Booker Prize and International Booker Prize–nominated authors as part of the Quick Reads mission. It takes readers to a wide range of settings – including Japan, Ireland, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Somalia – offering diverse voices and perspectives from around the world. The stories explore very different themes: the death of the mistress of a married man and its impact on his wife; a mother waiting in a bakery to collect a cake for her deceased son; the discovery of an abandoned baby buggy on a beach; a grandmother struggling to respond to the birth of her deaf grandchild; a young woman in the military trying to make sense of her private life; a visit to a village submerged beneath an artificial lake; and two girls who create a golem from mud. The variety of subjects and styles keeps the collection engaging throughout. While some stories resonated with me more than others, I found every one of them enjoyable, making this a satisfying introduction to several outstanding contemporary writers.
“Supporting the baby’s head, Marion sat carefully down on the chair that was there. He seemed weightless in her hands. She was very aware of her failure to be equal to the needs of this moment. That her daughter needed something from her was painfully evident. It was also painfully evident that she didn’t seem to have what was needed – didn’t even seem to know what it was.”
Contents
Until the Girl Died by Anne Enright
Afternoon at the Bakery by Yoko Ogawa
The Buggy by Roddy Doyle
Flight by David Szalay
Filsan by Nadifa Mohamed
No Need to fear The Depths by Andrey Kurkov
Into the Mud by Yael van der Wouden