Home
/
Fiction
/
Sand / Elizabeth (Storycuts)
Sand / Elizabeth (Storycuts)
Oct 3, 2024 7:16 AM

Author:Susan Hill

Sand / Elizabeth (Storycuts)

In 'Sand', sisters Clara and Lizzie recall an extraordinary childhood trip to the beach with their surly mother who, coming across a wailing boy, had calmly handed him her handkerchief; the sacred relic which she kept in her purse at all times, and which had belonged to her beloved late father, which she had - until that moment - guarded with her life.

In 'Elizabeth', 'There's a world beyond yourself you must break through to,' Elizabeth's mother chides, lest her only daughter inherit her own ill-fate: doomed to scrape by on the bottom rung of society, married to a feckless man who would put his own sense of adventure before his wife's ill-health. Timid Elizabeth is initially terrified by the thought of leaving her insular existence, but when tragedy strikes her family, she resolves to follow her mother's advice and break free.

Part of the Storycuts series, these two short stories were previously published in the collection The Boy Who Taught the Beekeeper to Read.

Reviews

Exquisite...these stories sparkle with the fire of real diamonds.

—— The Times

Contemporary Indian fiction writers are among the finest in the world, and Desai at her best, as she is throughout this collection, has deservedly won her place alongside them.

—— Irish Times

Unsentimental, dazzling, funny and achingly sad.

—— Literary Review

All her stories are full of a confidence in human nature that is a rarity and a pleasure to encounter.

—— The Spectator

Anita Desai is one of the most brilliant and subtle writers ever to have described the meeting of eastern and western culture.

—— Alison Lurie

Spine-chilling twists and turns - Graham Greene eat your heart out

—— Tatler

Darien Dogs is a bullishly confident and vivacious collection

—— Time Out

Beautifully paced and pitched

—— Independent

These stories are shored up with sentences and paragraphs that demand immediate re-reading for their cleverness and warmth…This party is well worth attending

—— Independent

This collection shows a writer quietly growing in style, perception and grace. She conveys to the reader that rare ability to see completely into someone else’s head

—— Spectator

Accomplished ... confident

—— Sunday Times

The ghost of Katherine Mansfield hovers lightly over these deceptively delicate snapshots which zero in on the much maligned territory of the domestic and make it new and vital again

—— Metro
Comments
Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Copyright 2023-2024 - www.zzdbook.com All Rights Reserved