The Whole Story and Other Stories
Encyclopedia
The Whole Story and Other Stories is a short story collection by Scottish Booker-shortlisted author Ali Smith
, first published in 2003 by Hamish Hamilton
.
It contains twelve stories :-
Ali Smith
Ali Smith is a British writer.She was born to working-class parents, raised in a council house in Inverness and now lives in Cambridge. She studied at the University of Aberdeen and then at Newnham College, Cambridge, for a PhD that was never finished. She worked as a lecturer at University of...
, first published in 2003 by Hamish Hamilton
Hamish Hamilton
Hamish Hamilton Limited was a British book publishing house, founded in 1931 eponymously by the half-Scot half-American Jamie Hamilton . Confusingly, Jamie Hamilton was often referred to as Hamish Hamilton...
.
It contains twelve stories :-
- "The Universal Story" : A man buys up every copy of The Great GatsbyThe Great GatsbyThe Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published in1925, it is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City from spring to autumn of 1922....
in a second-hand bookshop. The narrative focus switches between the proprietor, a 1974 PenguinPenguin BooksPenguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
edition of the book, a fly landing on it, and the man, who it transpires is buying every copy of the book he can find for his sister, who is constructing a boat out of them financed by an Arts CouncilArts Council of Great BritainThe Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. The Arts Council of Great Britain was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England , the Scottish Arts Council, and the Arts Council of Wales...
grant... - "Gothic" : Gives an insight into the life of a bookshop clerk and the eccentricities of the customers and how she deals with them.
- "Being Quick" : A traveller returning home sees DeathDeath (personification)The concept of death as a sentient entity has existed in many societies since the beginning of history. In English, Death is often given the name Grim Reaper and, from the 15th century onwards, came to be shown as a skeletal figure carrying a large scythe and clothed in a black cloak with a hood...
on the concourse of King's Cross StationKing's Cross stationKing's Cross station may refer to::* London King's Cross railway station in London, England** King's Cross St. Pancras tube station for London Underground lines.** King's Cross Thameslink, a disused railway station in London, England...
; later, a fatality on the line delays the train and the traveller decides to walk the remainder of the journey but cannot phone home as her mobile phone has died... - "May": A woman falls hopelessly in love with a neighbour's tree...
- "Paradise" : Follows the live of three Scottish sisters; one a shift manager in a fast-food restaurant (who single-handedly foils an armed raid); the second is a hostess on a boat taking day-trips on Loch NessLoch NessLoch Ness is a large, deep, freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately southwest of Inverness. Its surface is above sea level. Loch Ness is best known for the alleged sightings of the cryptozoological Loch Ness Monster, also known affectionately as "Nessie"...
and the third is drunk in a cemetery vandalising angels. - "Erosive" : An Apple tree is infested with aphids, the owner falls in love...
- "The Book Club" :A young girl borrows books from a bookseller, reading them carefully so they can still be sold; later her mother joins a book club...
- "Believe Me" :A woman admits to her female lover that she is married and spends her days with her husband. Her lover then admits she is also having an affair with him...
- "Scottish Love Songs" : An elderly lady is haunted by a Pipe BandPipe bandA pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers. The term used by military pipe bands, pipes and drums, is also common....
who continually march through her house playing, rendering her all but deaf... - "The Shortlist Season" : A young woman believes herself to be allergic to modern art...
- "The Heat of the Story" : Three drunk women stagger into Midnight MassMidnight MassMidnight Mass is a Christmas Eve liturgical tradition in the Roman Catholic church.Midnight Mass may also refer to:* Midnight, Mass., a Vertigo comics series* Midnight Mass, a 2004 novel by F...
... - "The Start of Things" : A lover is locked out on a cold winter night...
External links
- The real and the arch, Review from The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
by Rachel CuskRachel Cusk-Biography:Rachel Cusk was born in Canada in 1967 and spent much of her childhood in Los Angeles before finishing her education at St Mary's Convent in Cambridge. She read English at New College, Oxford, and has travelled extensively in Spain and Central America. She is the author of six novels....