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Other people's lives
There's something about Amy Hempel. Her short sentences. Her punchy titles. Her succinct way of writing. Her getting straight to the point. Her directness. Her take on uncomfortable realities.
Whatever it is, Hempel is an accomplished short-story writer. The Dog of the Marriage (Quercus, £16.99) is the first publication in Britain of this contemporary American author, and it's a powerful collection, its minimalism oddly compelling.
There are umpteen stories in here, with intriguing titles such as Breathing Jesus, Three Popes Walk into a Bar, and Under No Moon.
And intriguing subject matter too - the stories often told by somewhat neurotic narrators, strangely perceptive about other people's lives and problems.
These are short stories with a difference: short, serious and funny at the same time, getting to the heart of the matter and to the heart of all the people evoked.
Whereas Hampel has her feet firmly on the ground, Japanese author Taichi Yamada is somewhat of a surrealist. His latest novel, I Haven't Dreamed of Flying for a While (Faber, £10.99), is no exception. This is an enigmatic love story - the couple first meeting in strange circumstances in a hospital room, either side of a curtain.
He, Taura, is 48. He has no idea of the age of the lovely and loving female the other side of the curtain, but catches a glimpse of a wrinkled, grey-haired woman the following day.
The connection has been made, however, and next time they meet, she is younger. And so on, each time they meet, until time is on the verge of running out for her altogether.
As time moves in reverse for Matsuko, the love between the pair moves forward. It is literally a fantastic story, and certainly a very different take on the meaning and development of love.
There's not a lot of love in Broken by Daniel Clay (Harper Press, £12.99). Eleven-year-old Skunk Cunningham does have a loving dad, but that's about it. Her mother has gone; her brother is, well, an older brother, preoccupied with his Xbox. Living opposite are the neighbours from hell - the Oswald family, with their thuggish dad and his five daughters. And also the Buckleys - Mr and Mrs Buckley and their son, Rick, alias Broken Buckley - hence the title.
Skunk is in a coma as the book opens, visited by her distraught father. And the story that unfolds, as seen by Skunk, is the chain of events behind the single incident that put her in the coma.
It's not a mystery, exactly, but more a reflection of the nastier side of humanity, and how one seemingly small lie can have implications far beyond the original intention.
Not a comfortable read, but an unusual one.
11:51am Thursday 8th May 2008
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