Brought to you by Penguin.
The eagerly-awaited book by Emma Cline, author of the global phenomenon The Girls
The stories in Emma Cline's stunning first collection consider the dark corners of human experience, exploring the fault lines of power between men and women, parents and children, past and present. A man travels to his son's school to deal with the fallout of a violent attack and to make sure his son will not lose his college place. But what exactly has his son done? And who is to blame? A young woman trying to make it in LA, working in a clothes shop while taking acting classes, turns to a riskier way of making money but will be forced to confront the danger of the game she's playing. And a family coming together for Christmas struggle to skate over the lingering darkness caused by the very ordinary brutality of a troubled husband and father.
These outstanding stories examine masculinity, male power and broken relationships, while revealing - with astonishing insight and clarity - those moments of misunderstanding that can have life-changing consequences. And there is an unexpected violence, ever-present but unseen, in the depiction of the complicated interactions between men and women, and families. Subtle, sophisticated and displaying an extraordinary understanding of human behaviour, these stories are unforgettable.
'I don't know which is more amazing, Emma Cline's understanding of human beings or her mastery of language' Mark Haddon
© Emma Cline 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020
Imprint: Vintage Digital
Published: 03/09/2020
ISBN: 9781473580794
Length: 442 Minutes
RRP: £13.00
Cline is an astonishingly gifted stylist, but it is her piercing understanding of modern humiliation that makes these stories vibrate with life...brilliant
Fans of Cline will delight in the author's razor-sharp observations and penchant for storytelling
Cline is particularly good at locking in the witty detail that speaks volumes... These expertly constructed stories withhold key information... the pleasures here lie in an appreciation of Cline's skilful and absorbing craft
These stories live in the odd corners of the world, Cline's talent at uncovering the seedy and somehow bringing it to beautiful light is brilliant. These are understated gems
When I read Emma Cline I think of Mary Gaitskill's psychological acuity and of Joy Williams's sardonic gravitas. And yet something about Cline's intimate tone, her talent for conjuring the feeling of being alive, is entirely and uniquely her own