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The Pier Falls

The Pier Falls

by Mark Haddon (Author)

  • Used

    Hardcover 2016

    $3.25
Synopsis

'He writes with the craft of Julian Barnes or, even, Truman Capote.' The Times A Spectator Book of the Year 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 shoebox. 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 longlisted for prizes), second that his imagination is even darker than we had thought.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
 Pages: 368
 Edition: First Edition
 Publisher: Jonathan Cape
Published: 05 May 2016
ISBN 10: 1910702161
ISBN 13: 9781910702161
Book Overview: The first collection of stories from the author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

Media Reviews
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 title story...is so good and so awful I read it with my hand over my mouth... His global smash hit The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-time...hit the mark. Here, he hits it again, and again and again * Metro *
A knockout. From the breathtaking first piece, The Pier Falls is powerful and emotional. * Good Housekeeping *
Mark Haddon is a master of haunting detail. This title story is a tour de force and the other eight are diverting reminders of just how transporting a perfectly constructed short story can be. -- Olicia Cole * GQ *
Superb new collection... This impressive collection is both bleak and brilliant and shows a writer at the top of his game. -- Mernie Gilmore * Daily Express *
A sustained set of powerfully told stories... It's as if Ian McEwan had never turned nice. -- David Sexton * Evening Standard *
He is a master of the short form...his imagination is even darker than we had thought. * i *
A masterful collection... Haddon is a consummate storyteller and The Pier Falls reveals a writer at the peak of his imagination. Some of the stories have already been shortlisted for awards and one suspects the whole collection will justifiably follow suit. -- Hannah Beckerman * Sunday Express *
This collection brims with incident both curious and exciting, and yet displays a cool, almost detached observance of unfolding drama that is impossible to look away from. -- Hilary White * Irish Independent *
Haddon's debut collection contains a suite of ambitiously scaled and event-packed tales, self-consciously eclectic both in setting and subject matter... The Pier Falls is a bracing, remorselessly lucid depiction of a sudden and expansive moment of chaos... Each of these stories grip. Like the news at its queasiest, most shocking or grimly inevitable, you frequently want to look away but are compelled to keep reading. -- Colin Barrett * Irish Times *
He can pull you into the heart of a new world with just two or three sentences, and deploys this talent with apparent ease... Haddon's work is easy to relate to because it's underpinned with razor-sharp clarity about what it means to be human. * Club Life *
Author Bio
Mark Haddon is an author, illustrator and screenwriter who has written fifteen books for children and won two BAFTAs. His bestselling novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time won seventeen literary prizes, including the Whitbread Award. His poetry collection, The Talking Horse and the Sad Girl and the Village Under the Sea, was published by Picador in 2005, and his last novel, The Red House, was published by Jonathan Cape in 2012. His most recent title is short story collection The Pier Falls. He lives in Oxford.