- Published: 29 August 2016
- ISBN: 9781784701017
- Imprint: Vintage
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 288
- RRP: $22.99
Stories from Other Places
A wonderful collection of short stories taking the reader around the world: from a dramatic First World War encounter in Australia to the faded glamour of ex-pat 1960s Bombay and an epic quest beginning in 1908 Bolivia.
Nicholas Shakespeare’s collected stories take us around the globe and into the intimate lives of his characters and the dilemmas and temptations they face.
The opening novella, ‘Oddfellows’, tells the little-known history of the only enemy attack on Australian soil during the Great War, when, in January 1915, the outback town of Broken Hill was rocked by horrifying events.
From this dramatic First World War encounter, we are taken to the faded glamour of 1960s Bombay, to a Bolivian mining town in 1908 where civic folly is running amok, and to an Argentinian farm presided over by a former air stewardess and her husband.
Across ocean and continents, these are stories of connection and disconnection, misunderstanding and missed opportunities, identity and displacement.
- Published: 29 August 2016
- ISBN: 9781784701017
- Imprint: Vintage
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 288
- RRP: $22.99
One of the best English novelists of our time
Alan Massie, Wall Street Journal
One of our best and truest novelists
The Times
Eight nuggets of pure, bold storytelling
Holly Kyte, Sunday Telegraph
In each story Shakespeare brilliantly transports us to other places, times, cultures and communities, but for all their differentness and exotic heat and dust, in essence they are places we know only too well
Katie Law, Evening Standard
Shakespeare captures this historical moment beautifully and in elegant prose...It's a fascinating story... skilfully told. It is also timely. Because the story Shakespeare tells resonates so deeply with current tensions it is weightier than its length might suggest.
Praise for the story 'Oddfellows', The Saturday Paper
A tremendous and captivating writer
The Independent
He tells a story like an angel
The Observer
A world writer
Sunday Herald
Nicholas Shakespeare is one of those writers who can do anything
Sydney Morning Herald
A master craftsman
Los Angeles Times
One of our dozen or so best
Literary Review
[A] fantastic story...one of the most superb literary gems I have read in recent times. Facts and fiction merge in this riveting and relevant work. In a word - brilliant!
Praise for the story 'Oddfellows', Hobart Mercury
[A] fantastic story...one of the most superb literary gems I have read in recent times. Facts and fiction merge in this riveting and relevant work. In a word - brilliant!
Praise for the story 'Oddfellows', Hobart Mercury
Riveting...one of Britain's finest writers...I do not expect to read a more formidable piece of short fiction this year.
Praise for the story 'Oddfellows', Sydney Morning Herald
transports the reader to different places around the globe, and frequently back in time as well
UK Press Syndication
Accomplished and craftsmanlike
Phil Baker, Sunday Times
'Oddfellows' [the novella that begins the collection] is a sublimely sparse and economically elegant powder keg of a story… Shakespeare’s shape of the story is sheer craftsmanship and the precision of his prose is a shimmering peak of imagination and imagery.
Sydney Arts Guide
