Nine minutes to five. Ozone and sea-sparkle and carnival license.
This I how it begins.
An expedition to Mars goes terribly wrong. A seaside pier collapses. A thirty-stone man is confined to his living room. One woman is abandoned on a tiny island in the middle of the ocean. Another woman is saved from drowning. Two boys discover a gun in a shoe box. A group of explorers find a cave of unimaginable size deep in the Amazon jungle. A man shoots a stranger in the chest on Christmas Eve.
In this first collection of stories by the author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Mark Haddon demonstrates two things: first that he is a master of the short form (several of the stories have been long-listed for prizes),second that his imagination is even darker than we had thought.
Publisher: Vintage PublishingISBN: 9781784701963Number of pages: 368Weight: 255 gDimensions: 198 x 129 x 22 mm
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'A superb collection of stand-out stories... The Pier Falls is unique in that every story is brilliant... It is,simply,and ultimately,an absolute pleasure to read.'- Irish Independent
'This is a top-notch collection... It veers into unexpected territory,and the evolving surprises are mesmerizing...'The Pier Falls'leads the collection. It is a perfectly controlled little masterpiece... So chilling that one imagines its author could carve out a second career as a horror film scriptwriter.'- Lionel Shriver, Financial Times
'Brilliant collection... Seamless prose... It feels as though Haddon is leading you into the deepest underworld of human endeavor and behavior,yet holding your hand gently as he guides you into the labyrinth. Outstanding.'- Imogen Lycett Green, Daily Mail
'The real redemption in these superbly gripping stories comes from their canny human detail,and the vivid,unsettling clarity they bring to our brief lives.'- Phil Baker,Sunday Times
'He writes with the craft of Julian Barnes or,even,Truman Capote.'- Andrew Billen, The Times
'The real redemption in these superbly gripping stories comes from their canny human detail,and the vivid,unsettling clarity they bring to our lives.'-The Sunday Times
'These nine tales are upfront and even baroque in their confrontation with the dark,disastrous side of life'- The Independent
Mark Haddon
An author of children's and adult fiction as well as graphic novels and poetry,Mark Haddon is best-known for his bestselling 2003 novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time which won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award. His other work includes: The Red House,A Spot of Bother and The Pier Falls.
Visit the Mark Haddon author page
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