Author:A.L. Kennedy
The stories collected in Original Bliss are concerned, appropriately, with the complexities of sex and the lack of it. In the long novella that gives the book its title, Helen Brindle thinks she has lost God - but it is simply love that she's missing. She can't find it at home, with the violent, deadly Mr Brindle, but will she find it in Stuttgart when she meets the enigmatic Edward E. Gluck, with his Process and his paraphernalia? And what happens when her father confessor starts to confess? A beautiful and terrifying examination of passion and pornography, of the aching need for completion and healing.
Kennedy explores the dark byways and cul-de-sacs of love. She turns her clear, clever prose unflinchingly on jealousy, perversion and tangled desire. But she is as sympathetic as she is sharp in her observations and profound in her thinking
—— Kit Spring , ObserverKennedy's great gift throughout for amused honesty, the clear-eyed dissection of sexual and emotional hang-ups...gives the book its rare cargo of resonance... It sparkles with beautiful observation
—— Steven Poole , Independent on SundayA revelation. It's the best piece of writing A. L. Kennedy has yet done
—— Jenny Turner , IndependentThe supremely original writer among a gifted generation of young British fiction talents
—— Tom Adair , Scotland on SundayA delight... Subtle, erotic, ambitious and accomplished
—— New Statesman...they show the hallmarks of Vonnegut's distinctive voice and style - that unique mixture of knowingness and wide-eyed innocence, warmth and cynicism, guile and simplicity...Not too difficult to see why he didn't manage to place these stories at the time - the early Fifties wasn't ready for such darkness and lightly-worn subversion. Terrific.
—— Daily Mailrather wonderful...still knocks most purveyors of the short story form into a cocked hat
—— David Hayles , The TimesLook at the Birdie is a valuable time capsule, providing insight into the early developments of Vonnegut's style. Wry and ironic commentary connect each story making this collection an enjoyable read
—— AestheticaAll the stories are clever, witty and written with Vonnegut's trademark invention
—— Simon Shaw , Mail on SundayLook at the Birdie is a valuable time capsule, providing insight into the early developments of Vonnegut's style. Wry and ironic commentary connect each story making this collection an enjoyable read
—— Cherie Federico , AestheticaStriking collection of stories
—— Sunday TelegraphAs you would expect, the stories in this collection involve a certain amount of cultural tourism to the lower depths, undertaken with black humour... Welsh's relish for degradation covers up a strong sentimental streak
—— Victor Sebestyen , Sunday TimesWelsh's transcription of Scots dialect is brilliant... Welsh also has a fabulous sense of the absurd... The overall vibe of these stories is dark and grim. And fierily, fiercely funny
—— Brandon Robshaw , Independent on Sunday
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