THE LONDON STORIES

 

This compelling collection of short stories will intrigue anyone who wants to read finely crafted fiction which explores the great themes of memory, loss and love. Set against the backdrop of London life in the 1980s and early 1990s, the stories here are diverse in subject matter but all knitted together in the way they represent the turning points – big and small – in people’s lives.

A former skinhead has a vision when attacked by a group of youths; a smug barrister suffers a rare defeat in court; a sports-averse boy enjoys a moment of triumph in a rugby match; a short walk turns into the experience of a lifetime; a normally passive neighbour takes exception to some racist graffiti;  a tortuous dinner party leads to a new lease of life for one of the guests; a Cockney street preacher reveals the mystical secrets of the London Stone; and a child is entranced with the amazing glass ship his uncle has fashioned from a wreck fetched from a shipbreaker’s yard.

In turn, fantastical, gritty and moving, these stories are essential reading for anyone interested in writing about London and Londoners.