Author:Donald Ray Pollock
In 'Bactine', a toothless layabout takes a break from nursing his crippled uncle and spends the evening abusing solvents with an acquaintance. The fumes only serve to exacerbate his dismay, though, and a trip to an all-night coffee shop causes some unpleasant recollections to surface.
In 'Giganthomachy', Teddy and William are two nine year-old boys who like to argue over whether they'll play nuclear war or Vietnam games in the yard. William's more fantastic suggestions rile Teddy, who suffers enough deranged fantasy when he retreats inside every evening.
In 'Pills', Bobby and Frankie take a notion to leave Knockemstiff for California and a new life amongst the film stars. But the four stolen bottles of pharmaceutical grade speed they'd intended to fund the trip with prove mighty alluring, and the road out of the township grows ever more elusive.
Part of the Storycuts series, these three short stories were previously published in the collection Knockemstiff.
A fine, fierce, incandescent talent
—— Scotland on SundayBurning Your Boats brings together her four volumes of short fiction...They testify to Carter's range, daring and her invention. An important book
—— Irish TimesA writer cultured in every sense of the word, whose syntax is ever artful, whose vocabulary is zestfully arcane, whose erudition manifests itself in her work in a shimmering play of parody and illusion. She was one of the century's best writers, and her stories are among her finest works
—— Sunday TimesThis is the voice the young generation are flocking to read and study, and these marvellous collected stories wonderfully explain why no pigeon-hole could ever contain her creator. When you read all the stories collected together, a sense of joy erupts that such writing can exist
—— Daily TelegraphWorld-class stories, woven from their author's high humour, glittering imagination, vital erudition and warm intelligence
—— IndependentExtremely funny... Keret’s stories understand the plasticity of narrative and the importance of imaginative acts
—— The TimesThe ingenious and original master of the short story overflows with absurdity, humour, longing and compassion... Keret's most mature and most playful work yet, and establises him as one of the great international writers of our time
—— GQDistinctive, surreal and intelligent
—— Antonia Charlesworth , Big Issue in the NorthSublimely irresistible
—— Tim Samuels , theholbornmag.com