The Penguin Book of Scottish Short Stories

Oct 4, 2024 7:19 PM

Author:J. Hendry,J. Hendry

'In this collection the heretical principle has been adopted that if a writer is Scots, something of the Scottish spirit must inevitably emerge from his work.'

In the twenty stories collected here we are given a multi-faceted view of Scotland, the Scots and the Scottish short story. With stories ranging from Roman Britain through the trials of those at home during the Second World War to a country and people determined to assert their independence.

Reviews

This collection of short stories is easily one of the most memorable, moving and laugh-aloud-funny books you'll read in a long time

—— Hepzibah Anderson , Daily Mail

Many of the very short stories in this collection are more thought-provoking than the average novel

—— Independent on Sunday

A collection of short, surreal fragments that place the reader in peculiar and often moving worlds

—— Metro

A beguiling, savagely funny collection of stories...he'll leave you with more questions than answers but you'll feel all the better for it

—— Daniel Trilling , New Statesman

These are 46 horror stories from Israel, though they acrobatically shape-shift from the political to the fabulous, and are outwardly comic... I enjoyed these wild, blackly inventive pieces very much at times

—— Todd McEwan , Guardian

Etgar Keret is a writer to be taken seriously

—— Yann Martel

Keret's surreal conceits are couched in a wry, downbeat language...The effect is something like a sorrowful hybrid of Kafka and Donald Barthelme: deadpan on the surface, with a bassnote of discomfort and emotional alienation that makes even the briefest tales snag in the mind...Each piece is at once universal and particular...world-class gems. The translation is brilliant, too

—— Tim Martin , Daily Telegraph

Etgar Keret is the voice of young Israel

—— Independent

One of the greatest short story writers alive

—— Ben Rice

One of the most important writers alive... enchantingly witty

—— Clive James

Etgar Keret's extraordinary imagination sets the reader free from slogans and headlines

—— Linda Grant

One of the greatest short story writers alive

—— Ben Rice

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