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Product Description In the title story of this sharp, clever collection of short stories, an odd-job man arrives home to his Bradford council block to find a message waiting for one of its inhabitants?in ten-foot-high letters. With his white van and set of ladders, he’s the chief suspect. But who is the mysterious Slag that has the whole street gossiping; and who has she hurt? In "Wrestling Jacob," a lusty academic takes out his frustrations down on the farm every weekend, sparring with a fierce, strangely human ram. It’s hard work being beaten up by a sheep, but he soon realizes that his girlfriends love to see him wrestle Jacob. And in "Coddock," there’s a bold new chipshop owner in town. But who is he? And what do you get if you cross a cod with a haddock, anyway? From the backstreets of Bradford to dingy moorland pubs with ten-year-old jukeboxes, Bill Broady’s bright new stories give Yorkshire a lick of new paint, with all of the searingly precise prose, wit, and energy of his highly acclaimed first novel, Swimmer.
A collection of sharp, eccentric tales explores the hidden absurdities and quiet desperation found within the blue-collar landscapes of Yorkshire. The protagonist of each story navigates a world defined by council blocks, moorland pubs, and the peculiar social hierarchies of small-town life. Broady employs a witty, observant narrative voice to examine the friction between mundane reality and bizarre, often surreal, personal obsessions. The stories function as a series of vignettes that challenge the reader to find the extraordinary within the gritty, everyday environment of Northern England.
Critics have noted Broady's ability to maneuver through gritty settings while maintaining a smart and perceptive voice. The collection is frequently praised for its artistic probing of the darker, more obscure corners of British life. Readers often highlight the author's skill in taking simple, appealing conceits and twisting them into unexpected, intriguing directions. The work is regarded as a vibrant, energetic contribution to regional literature that avoids sentimental tropes in favor of searing precision.
Page Count:
242
Publication Date:
2002-01-01
Publisher:
Harpercollins Pub Ltd
ISBN-10:
0002259478
ISBN-13:
9780002259477
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