Sometimes a short story collection comes along that blows your socks off. Of course, Lionel Shriver is used to blowing people's socks off, being the author of the Orange Prize-winning We Need to Talk About Kevin. Between the covers of her latest offering are two novellas and 10 short stories concerned with property, and it's not nearly as dull as it sounds. In turns eloquent, funny, sharp and merciless, the characters in her stories grapple with the things they possess – things that sometimes end up owning them.
It opens with the outstanding novella The Standing Chandelier: Jillian and Weston have been friends for 25 years and when Weston pops the question to his girlfriend Paige, Jillian creates a highly personal gift for the happy couple. But chandelier or no chandelier, Paige has no intention of allowing Jillian to continue her friendship with her fiancé.
In Domestic Terrorism, millennials come into Shriver's cross-hairs: thirtysomething Liam refuses to get a job and move out of home so his parents move out instead, but not before Liam has become something of a cause célèbre. In The ChapStick, a middle-aged man finally finds his mojo in the worst possible place – airport security – and in Paradise to Perdition an embezzler discovers life on the lam on a tropical island isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Sometimes a short story collection comes along that blows your socks off. Of course, Lionel Shriver is used to blowing people's socks off, being the author of the Orange Prize-winning We Need to Talk About Kevin. Between the covers of her latest offering are two novellas and 10 short stories concerned with property, and it's not nearly as dull as it sounds. In turns eloquent, funny, sharp and merciless, the characters in her stories grapple with the things they possess – things that sometimes end up owning them.
It opens with the outstanding novella The Standing Chandelier: Jillian and Weston have been friends for 25 years and when Weston pops the question to his girlfriend Paige, Jillian creates a highly personal gift for the happy couple. But chandelier or no chandelier, Paige has no intention of allowing Jillian to continue her friendship with her fiancé.
In Domestic Terrorism, millennials come into Shriver's cross-hairs: thirtysomething Liam refuses to get a job and move out of home so his parents move out instead, but not before Liam has become something of a cause célèbre. In The ChapStick, a middle-aged man finally finds his mojo in the worst possible place – airport security – and in Paradise to Perdition an embezzler discovers life on the lam on a tropical island isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Other tales feature a Brooklyn couple who learn nature isn't always their friend when they buy a ramshackle house; an unhappy couple too poor to separate; and a son who tries to teach his skinflint father a lesson, with surprising consequences.
A diverting collection, written with a sardonic smile and a rich harvest of acute observations.
Entry is open only to New Zealand residents. Employees of Bauer Media Group (LP) NZ or Borough Press, their affiliates, agencies and immediate families are ineligible to enter. No responsibility is taken for lost, misdirected or incomplete entries. Entries are limited to one per person. Open to New Zealand residents only. This promotion commences Thursday 10 May and ends Saturday 30 June. By registering their details, entrants give permission for Bauer Media Group (LP) NZ to post, email and mobile text message updates. The prize consists of [Property by Lionel Shriver]. We have 5 to give away. The prize package must be taken as offered and is not exchangeable, transferable or redeemable for cash. Bauer Media Group (LP) NZ reserves the right to exchange any item with another item of greater value. Anything not specified in these terms and conditions as being included in the prize package is excluded. The winner will be contacted via email between Monday 1 July and Tuesday 2 July. The promoter is Bauer Media Group (LP) NZ, Shed 12, City Works Depot, 90 Wellesley Street West, Auckland.
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