About the book

Published: 29 August 2016
ISBN: 9781784701017
Imprint: Vintage
Format: Paperback
Pages: 288
RRP: $22.99

Categories:

Contemporary Fiction

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Stories from Other Places

Nicholas Shakespeare

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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.

Pub date: 29 August 2016
ISBN: 9781784701017
Imprint: Vintage
Format: Paperback
Pages: 288
RRP: $22.99

Categories:

Contemporary Fiction

Share…

About the Author

Nicholas Shakespeare

Nicholas Shakespeare was born in 1957. The son of a diplomat, much of his youth was spent in the Far East and South America. His novels have been translated into twenty languages. They include The Vision Of Elena Silves, winner of the Somerset Maugham Award, Snowleg and The Dancer Upstairs, which was chosen by the American Libraries Association in 1997 as the year's best novel, and in 2001 was made into a film of the same name by John Malkovich. Recent books include Secrets of the Sea and Priscilla. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He is married with two sons and divides his time between Oxford and Tasmania.

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Praise for Stories from Other Places

“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