Shine/Variance

Shine/Variance
Stephen Walsh
RRP:
NZ$ 40.00
Our Price:
NZ$ 32.00
Trade Paperback
h217 x 136mm - 240pg
1 Jul 2021 UK
International import eta 7-19 days
9781784744205
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
A sharp and insightful debut short story collection about the pitfalls of ordinary life "An exciting, original, and very welcome new voice" Donal Ryan"These are startling, adventurous and often wonderful stories. I loved this collection" Roddy Doyle"Full of assured originality and freshness - a new writer much to be welcomed" Bernard MacLavertyA sharp and insightful debut short story collection about the pitfalls of ordinary life A wife yearns to escape the tight-fisted confines of a package holiday. A boy dreams of footballing greatness as his mother mourns a loss. A man tries to assemble an absent child' s playhouse, with impossible instructions and too much beer. A woman seeks clarity from automated voices. A father is distracted from Christmas tree shopping with his son by the looming pressure of quarterly sales targets. Shine/Variance captures the tiny crises and wonders of daily life with warmth, wit and decisive clarity. Ordinary people - commuters, call centre workers, children and parents - struggle for stability while craving more, and the schism between expectation and reality is only rarely bridged. Yet, amidst the faltering, recognition and bright moments of hope still illuminate their days. Fresh, tender and darkly funny, these stories are a window into the longings, frustrations and painfully human connections of ordinary life from a remarkable new voice in fiction. "The most powerful new collection I' ve read in some years" John Boyne"Brilliantly bats, staggeringly compelling, and ferociously funny. Stephen Walsh rips the concreteness of reality straight from us and reflects back a more wobbly version of our turbulent lives. . . Completely unique" June Caldwell
These are startling, adventurous and often wonderful stories. I loved this collection -- Roddy Doyle Stephen Walsh writes of the complexities of family life with insight and humour. The most powerful new collection I' ve read in some years -- John Boyne An exciting, original, and very welcome new voice. Stephen Walsh draws unexpected beauty from the familiar, the tragic, the darkly comic situations any of us could find ourselves in, composing perfect little symphonies from the haphazard chords of existence. He is a witty, insightful and very skilled writer, and the voices in this collection sing from the page -- Donal Ryan Stephen Walsh' s first collection is full of assured originality and freshness - a new writer much to be welcomed -- Bernard MacLaverty Stephen Walsh' s writing is at once original, sharp and funny. The richness of his insight and storytelling fits wonderfully into the breadth and depth of Irish writing today -- Anne Griffin, author of When All Is Said This is a brilliant collection; formally audacious, darkly funny, utterly unique. Stephen Walsh' s characters are so terrifyingly authentic I read through slotted fingers, mortified for them, and several times he had me on my feet. I loved this book -- Louise Kennedy These stories are brilliantly bats, staggeringly compelling and ferociously funny. Stephen Walsh rips the concreteness of reality straight from us and reflects back a more wobbly version of our turbulent lives. Characters are lost, lonely, restless, confused, but always gagging to roll out the very best of havoc humanity can offer. Voice, style and structure are completely unique. If someone shoved George Saunders into a giant kaleidoscope, along with a few episodes of Black Mirror, popping candy and a mescal worm, and gave it a good twist they' d get Shine/Variance -- June Caldwell Inventive, dazzling, devastating and laugh out loud funny, the stories in Shine/Variance are all this and more. It' s exhilarating to read such remarkable writing. An astonishingly good debut from a writer who clearly finds joy in language -- Danielle McLaughlin, author of The Art of Falling This collection depicts with caustic wit and insight the undersides of Irish domesticity: the quiet angers and atrophying dissatisfactions. Flaunting an enviable dexterity in both voice and style, Shine/Variance is an addictive collection, rich in moments that linger in your consciousness -- Susannah Dickey, author of Tennis Lessons Stephen Walsh' s stories are often playful, sometimes twisted, in form and tone, but the dexterity on display allows for deep, subtle and profoundly moving explorations of modern life -- Tim Finch, author of Peace Talks A striking new talent in Irish literature. These stories vibrate with wry humour while always packing a serious emotional punch. Slyly revealing how we communicate today; how the language of modern technology, travel, lifestyle and ambition have infiltrated our deepest thoughts, Walsh illustrates that, in fact, little has changed in the human heart since James Joyce published Dubliners,which this collection brings to mind. Hugely entertaining, gripping and moving, Shine/Variance announces the arrival of a wonderful new voice for our times -- Conor McPherson
Stephen Walsh lives in Dublin and works in IT. He started writing seriously in 2018. Since then his stories have been shortlisted for the White Review Short Story Prize, Royal Society of Literature V. S. Pritchett Short Story Award, the RTE Francis MacManus Story Competition, Fish Short Story Prize, longlisted for the An Post Irish Book Awards and published in The White Review, The Stinging Fly and broadcast on RTE Radio.
Status: Indent title, imported to order
ISBN-13: 9781784744205
Published: 1 Jul 2021
Published In: United Kingdom
Imprint: Chatto & Windus
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
Format: Trade Paperback
Height: 217mm
Width: 136mm
Spine: 19mm
Weight: 244g
Pages: 240

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