England and Other Stories

The masterful novelist ("Waterland", "Last Orders") presents us with a series of slice-of-life stories, allowing us to muse on the concept of Englishness.These bite-sized snippets, mostly contemporary (there are a couple of elegant forays into historical fiction), focus on the lives of ordinary people dealing with everyday crises - divorce, illness, bereavement, child abuse, etc.The writing is both warm and clinically precise, marking up in philosophical depth for what it lacks in terms of incident. Despite their brevity, the stories all seem complete, the characters affectionately drawn.There is the occasional sense of box-ticking as regards issues of race and sexuality. Taken as a whole, though, this is a recognisable portrait of a complex nation.

I love Graham Swift's writing. This collection of twenty five stories give us glimpses into the lives of normal people in different parts of the country. A couple have a historical setting but most are contemporary and many explore his favourite themes of loss and grief.

Typically Swiftian, gently and carefully crafted; not a Waterworks or Last Orders or The Sweet shop owner but avworthy b- list addition to his impressive canon.

Graham Swift - as captivating with the art of the short story as he is with his novels. You will have your favourites, but every one is unexpected and will hit you somewhere.

This is a really varied collection of short stories beautifully written and a thoroughly enjoyable read,for all tastes and interests.

A charming book which I enjoyed before passing it on to a friend, who also enjoyed it. This one will travel far I think.

Really great read. Beautifully written

Great stories. Buy this book.

I picked this up from the local library as a spur of the moment choice, it was on the promoted books shelf, and the cover grabbed my attention.

I devoured this book (and want more)

good

Pity: plastic library cover, but excellent for the resr

overrated

Arrived as expected

The stories reminded me of those written by young adults at school, there was nothing new and I could see what was going to "happen" more often than not.