PublishedPuncher And Wattmann, March 2024 |
ISBN9781922186973 |
FormatSoftcover, 254 pages |
Dimensions21cm × 14.8cm |
A man wakes up one morning to find an unknown woman
in bed beside him. A failed writer devises an ingenious method of plagiarizing
the work of others. Whole properties in a suburban neighbourhood begin
vanishing overnight. An ancient grand piano is purchased by a mysterious young
customer with an old secret. A spontaneous experiment in the paranormal
produces an unexpected result...
This
collection of 14 short stories is Alex Skovron's second book of fiction, after
his novella The Poet (2005)
introduces an eclectic range of protagonists, predicaments, voices, and
narrative styles - playful, earnest, speculative, ironic, intimate,
bittersweet, surreal. Between them, the characters'stories highlight the
untoward in the everyday, the transformative in the mundane, the twists and
turning-points that can challenge us - and the games we play with others, and
with ourselves.
'Intricate, dreamy, deeply literate stories that
unsettle the senses and stir the intellect.' - Helen Garner
'By turns beautifully detailed, puzzling and always
intriguing, the hauntingly solitary tone of these exquisitely observed stories
induces a rare meditative attentiveness in the reader. It is a powerfully
affecting collection that left me eager to explore more of Skovron's world.' - Alex Miller
