Author:Richard Yates
Richard Yates was acclaimed as one of the most powerful, compassionate and accomplished writers of America's post-war generation. Whether addressing the smothered desire of suburban housewives, the white-collar despair of Manhattan office workers or the heartbreak of a single mother with artistic pretensions, Yates ruthlessly examines the hopes and disappointments of ordinary people with empathy and humour.
Yates was the most perceptive American writer of the twentieth century
—— The TimesA major literary event...a remarkable achievement
—— IndependentHis short stories...are absolutely wonderful
—— Joseph O'ConnorHenry James is as solitary in the history of the novel as Shakespeare is in the history of poetry
—— Graham Greene[James] is the most intelligent man of his generation
—— T. S. EliotThe Turn of the Screw is the most hopelessly evil story that we have ever read in any literature, ancient or modern
—— IndependentWe are afraid of something unnamed, of something, perhaps, in ourselves... Henry James...can still make us afraid of the dark
—— Virginia WoolfDark, funny and disturbing
—— London Review of BooksThese 10 inventive stories, set mostly in the Florida Everglades, mix satire and sophisticated whimsy
—— New York TimesKaren Russell has produced an engaging debut. Her ability to integrate mythology and the supernatural with the very contemporary...is reminiscent of Angela Carter, but unlike Carter's many imitators, Russell never descends into whimsy... In St Lucy's, humans, ghosts and animals are utterly real; and Russell sells the genuine article, a seemingly effortless writer
—— Alisa Cox , MslexiaThese are stories that will sneak into the back of your brain and lurk there long after you are finished reading.
—— Global ReviewPoignant and wonderful story...concentrates, without effort, all Malouf's themes...it needs to be read
—— Prospect