Author:Jack Livings
*** Winner of the 2015 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction ***
Set in the shifting landscape of contemporary China, Jack Living's debut story collection, The Dog, explodes the country's cultural and social fault lines.
In this riveting, richly imagined collection of stories, a wealthy factory owner - once a rural peasant -refuses to help the victims of an earthquake until his daughter starts a relief effort of her own; a powerful Uyghur gangster clashes with his homosexual grandson; and a man struggles to undertake a physically impossible task - constructing a giant crystal sarcophagus for the dead leader.
With spare, penetrating prose, Livings gives shape to the anonymous faces in the crowd and illuminates the tensions, ironies, and possibilities of life in modern China. As heartbreaking as it is hopeful, The Dog marks the debut of a startling and wildly imaginative new voice in fiction.
Stunning. The Dog bristles with prickly details and barbed observations . . . An incisive - and highly impressive - debut
—— New York TimesA book of extraordinary power
—— The GuardianLivings's magnificent debut collection of short stories, The Dog, all set in contemporary, or near-contemporary China, satisfies that basic readerly urge, pitched somewhere between escapism and anthropological curiosity, to be transported.
—— The IndependentLivings writes so simply, and so well . . . These stories are sneaky, almost subliminal, in their ambitions and connections
What gives these stories their dark, upsetting grandeur is in every case the luminosity of hope, no matter how fragile, how vulnerable, how very nearly extinguished
—— Paul Harding, 2010 Pulitzer Prize winning author of 'Tinkers'A brilliant and promising debut. With its tales of volatile protagonists struggling to survive in contemporary China, The Dog should attract widespread attention and praise . . . Any unfamiliarity with the Chinese locales and culture is quickly eased by Livings's imaginative yet realistic scenarios and vividly drawn characters
—— BooklistAlready causing excitement in America, Jack Livings's remarkable The Dog is an impressive clutch of stories showing post-Mao China
—— Sunday TimesA socially complex and pitch-perfect account of modernization's grueling aftermath
—— Publishers WeeklyA captivating read
—— The LadyLivings has a keen eye for details and a knack for dialogue
—— The SpectatorTouching and humane
—— Financial TimesSuave and accomplished
—— Washington TimesMr Bones showcases the author's virtuoso storytelling abilities, as he tells stories of tricky situations, slippery personalities and unsettling motives
—— Seattle TimesHaddon’s debut collection contains a suite of ambitiously scaled and event-packed tales, self-consciously eclectic both in setting and subject matter… The Pier Falls is a bracing, remorselessly lucid depiction of a sudden and expansive moment of chaos… Each of these stories grip. Like the news at its queasiest, most shocking or grimly inevitable, you frequently want to look away but are compelled to keep reading.
—— Colin Barrett , Irish TimesHe can pull you into the heart of a new world with just two or three sentences, and deploys this talent with apparent ease… Haddon’s work is easy to relate to because it’s underpinned with razor-sharp clarity about what it means to be human.
—— Club LifeShows the breadth of his ability.
—— Alex O'Connell , The TimesTerrific dark collection in which each story is as absorbing and powerful as the last. Not to be missed.
—— Fanny Blake , Woman & HomeEchoing humanity. The title story is an exercise in style. Staccato sentences, like a ticker tape of headlines, describe the fall of a pier.
—— Donal O'Donoghue , RTE GuideHighly anticipated collection.
—— WiredGovThe Pier Falls, published May, is a collection of nine brilliant short stories, perfect for dipping into when you have a spare moment.
—— Kerry Potter , GlamourBleak but arresting stories.
—— Sunday TimesDiverse in style but united in emotional power… Lyrical new collection… All showcase his virtuoso gifts as a stylist and the deep well of empathy that have made his bestselling novels so compelling... The Pier Falls showcases Haddon’s immense gifts of invention and penetrating insight.
—— Northern Ireland Homes & LifestyleMark Haddon has become a master of the short story…this new collection intrigues and horrifies by turn
—— Country & Town HouseGripping tale… Told with forensic precision.
—— Paddy Kehoe , RTE OnlineExuberant, lusty exercises in juxtaposition… Such contrasts not only power each piece but also act as a form of call and response across them… Terrifically compelling collection.
—— Alex Clark , GuardianImpressive but forbiddingly lightless collection. There’s no doubt about Haddon’s skill.
—— Tim Martin , New StatesmanHave you ever read a book that made you gasp out loud and nearly burst into tears? The title story…had that effect on me… Haddon is able to give human tragedy the due solemnity it deserves but without being po-faced. A wonderful collection.
—— Anne Sexton , Hot PressGuaranteed to keep me riveted.
—— Karen Byrom , My WeeklyGripping… Packs the action and themes that might power a very full novel into less than 70 pages
—— John Williams , New York TimesScintillating first foray into the shorter form… Beautifully crafted… A challenging and idiosyncratic talent, with a memorable way with words.
—— Max Davidson , Mail on Sunday[Haddon] portrays the nightmares of our own society…with astonishing deftness, mixing black humour and pathos.
—— David Platzer , TabletThe Pier Falls had me gasping in disbelief.
—— Chris Catchpole , Q[It was] grim and compelling… [A] ripping, gripping yarn – narrative velcro.
—— Craige Raine , Spectator, Book of the YearI savoured all the atmospheric short stories in The Pier Falls.
—— Elizabeth Reapy , Irish Times, Book of the YearAn enthralling short story collection; dark, immersive stories with lots of action. The writing is tight and inspiring.
—— E. Reapy , Irish Independent, Book of the Year[A] searing collection of short stories that thrill and chill in equal measure.
—— Claire Allfree , Metro, Book of the YearI was also captivated by the dark A Pier Falls, a brilliantly written collection of bleak and brutal short stories.
—— Mernie Gilmore , Daily Express, Book of the YearI adored The Pier Falls… Each story is wildly entertaining and well written.
—— Dave Rudden , Headstuff, Book of the Year[It] proves the capacity of a short story to immerse the reader fully in a fictional world.
—— Anita Sethi , Guardian, Book of the YearThis short-story collection is thrilling and exquisitely written. I gave out several copies as Christmas presents.
—— Claire Fuller , Sunday TelegraphAn exquisite writer.
—— Fiona Wilson , The TimesMesmerisingly good stories, hugely varied, skilfully written, full of deft touches and narrative shocks... an absolute treat
—— Marcus Berkman , Spectator, *Books of the Year*