Fifteen Modern Tales of Attraction
by Alison MacLeod
published by Hamish Hamilton
price 8.99
Alison MacLeod, author of the novels The Changeling and The Wave Theory of Angels, has written a collection bursting with energy and emotion. In the words of the Guardian the stories are ‘evocations of desire and its mysteries, passing glimpses into minds and hearts’. You will enjoy gritty reality and awe-inspiring imagination. And throughout all of this you will be reminded that a good short story can be as truly absorbing and worthy of your attention as a good novel. Here are short, sharp bursts of creativity that prove beyond doubt that the short story lives on.
Short stories have a tough time making their way in the world. However clever, moving, original and beautiful they might be, and however short our attention spans in the twenty-first century, we find it hard to accord the short story the place on our bookshelf it deserves. This collection deserves a place.
Comments
Electric
17 October 2008
'Fifteen Tales of Modern Attraction' succeeds in engaging the reader at a variety of levels. It is fresh, original, intellectually challenging and often deeply emotional. It opens up fresh possibilities for aspiring writers of fiction.
How great writing and wonderful stories should be
19 October 2008
This is one of the best books - not just short story collections - I have read in the past few years. I wrote about the experience of reading one of the stories here http://theshortreview.wordpress.com/category/sunday-salon/ and The Short Review reviewing this collection here: http://www.theshortreview.com/reviews/15moderntalesofattraction.htm. I can't think of a better book to talk about in 2009.
Ferociously Good
19 October 2008
This is a memorable collection: spare, stylish, taut and knowing. A remarkable book from an enviable writer.
GIVE THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW 4 XMAS
19 October 2008
This a fantastic book. So many great stories. So fresh and original and proper stories with beginnings, middles and ends - not like so many short stories which, let's face it, can be fiendishly pretentious. And they're funny and poignant and wonderfully entertaining too! You've just got to read it.
These stories really come alive
19 October 2008
If you want something that is varied, vibrant and I am sure a couple of other good 'v's, go for this one. I am a bit lazy and I love to be able to dip in and out of stories, so this made great night-time reading for me. The stories live. They are very emotional, without being mawkish. And very visual (ah, more 'v's). This means that they really stay in your mind which for me is a sign of real art (yup, sounds rather vretentious, but it's true). Have a read, you'll see what I mean.
Vivid, breathless and cinematic
19 October 2008
Macleod's stories are intense yet readable: each unfolds like a short film in which you lose yourself completely then emerge either anguished or heartened by the lives of others. A master storyteller with a wealth of material.
Moving and powerful
20 October 2008
These stories are unusually moving and powerful while dealing with quirky contemporary subject matter. Each story is gripping yet each story is different. Very good value as a book which offers a variety of moods, methods and subject matter to enjoy.
Tales for the Noughties
20 October 2008
These vibrant, often hugely funny short stories are modern to the core yet classic in theme. Here MacLeod lays out fragile yet strong, doughty yet bleak, frequently comical tales of love, death, longing, desire and the sometimes mismatched choreography of very modern attraction between consenting and non-consenting adults. As an antidote to schmaltz this collection of stories is a must, but for purely brilliant writing it is one of the quintessential reads of this first decade of the second millennium. A naughty read for noughties people!
Tip Top Tales
20 October 2008
Love this collection. It contains a stunning variety of stories that cater for most moods.
Vive the short story!
20 October 2008
Fifteen Modern Tales of Attraction is an intelligent set of stories bound by the rules of attraction. It is cerebral but not weighty, sexy but not sleazy and, in some cases, achingly sad. Read it now.
Fifteen electrifying tales
20 October 2008
Bursting with life, spark and soul, moving and beautiful and dizzying, this is a dazzling collection by a truly wonderful writer. One of the best short story collections of the decade, truly!
in spite of my preference for novels
20 October 2008
these stories get my vote. touching, beautiful and tender.
brilliant
21 October 2008
electrifying stories
essential reading
23 October 2008
a treatise on the human spirit, on the ties that bind people together positively and negatively. A collection of stories that live on past reading, the characters finding themselves in locations and situations that are magical, dramatic, emotional and contemporary. I can't recommend this book strongly enough.
wonderful
25 October 2008
just wonderful...
Worth the Money
27 October 2008
A very moving collection of stories that say something important about contemporary life and relationships. A wonderful read.
Magical
27 October 2008
She creates atmosphere and mood in a single sentence. The relationships are subtle and tender, sharply observed and totally compelling. I was particularly moved by the three-parter 'so that the land was darkened'.
Mesmerising
29 October 2008
My vote goes for Alison Macleod's 'Fifteen Modern Tales of Attraction', which is one of the best short story collections I've read in years. Her tales just keep on surprising - they're by turns very funny, very strange, but ultimately very moving. Too often you can feel with a collection you're just reading a bunch of stories which have been stuck together - but not here, where as you read you keep finding that these odd little tales of love and lust keep bouncing off each other, until the final story has the punch that makes you feel as if you've just read a novel. Wonderful.
Hard Love
31 October 2008
Love short stories and this evocative collective will probe your soul and ask how hard do you love.
DAZZLING
03 November 2008
These stories are witty and heart breaking by turn, beautifully observed and structured, a sheer joy. My favourites include “so that the land was darkened” with its dark, visceral ending, and “Knowledge of Penises” (which deserves its own award simply for the title). The humour in this story is brilliant, but also the feeling of isolation, fear and finally a sort of celebration. And “Dirty Weekend” is almost unbearably poignant.
Wow, what a collection!
03 November 2008
Rare to find a short story collection without at least one dud or to feel that all the stories are not much of a muchness, but this truly is the exception - playful, smart, sad, tender - great variety and terrific style.
Great collection
07 November 2008
A real mix of styles and characters to entertain and challenge, all written beautifully. For anyone who claims not to like short stories, read this...
Wonderful Worlds
10 November 2008
Each of these stories are a world in their own right - each masterfully sketched and realised. This is what the short story is all about - small pieces of magic to savour in isolation. Wonderful!
beautiful writing
16 November 2008
I didn't want these stories to end...and they didn't...they lasted well after the final full-stops. I found myself re-reading them simply to enjoy the lines again and again. I love the way Alison MacLeod writes. Her imagery, her brush-strokes, her completely UN-second hand language, the glimpses of people's lives that make the reader want to know what lies beneath.
This paper-back sits on the table next to my bed and I know it will remain a favourite.
More please! I defy anybody to say that short stories are not worth reading after they have read this collection.
brilliant!
24 November 2008
A vital imagination at work. Incredibly romantic and yet, at the same, filled with the nitty gritty of real life.
Bravo Alison
07 December 2008
Well, one of the stories made me almost cry, so that tells you something.
Emotional workout
09 December 2008
Phew-Just read Alison Mac Leod's Book.What an emotional rollercoster.It stretched my imagination,senitivities and romantic repertoire.I feel so good after it - the literary equivelent of a good work out at the gym.Treffic!!
Short story genius!
19 December 2008
Everyone should read these and realise that the short story genre should no longer be overlooked by so many. The stories in this collection create worlds that tap into corners of contemporary life and emotion that stretch the imagination, yet feel so familiar. Brilliant and powerful!
Dazzling
19 December 2008
These short stories are dazzling in their variety. They are wonderfully told - full of wit - yet many also have a real emotional depth, and stay with you for long afterwards.
Stunning
20 December 2008
An original, highly imaginative and beautifully crafted collection of stories with real page-turning quality to engage the reader. Stunning.
The Best of Contemporary Writing
22 December 2008
These are unforgettable stories: the writing is passionate, intelligent and movingly human. For me, MacLeod is one of the most remarkable writers working in the UK today. Read her work now.
Beautiful, Imaginative and emotional.
27 December 2008
The title of my comment pretty much sums up my opinion, and that of everyone else it would seem! It's unusual to find such fresh new ideas, but Alison definitely manages this, whilst acheiving emotional depth and excellent writing.
Wow!
03 February 2009
Fifteen modern tales of attraction in which MacLeod relates stories of love, electricity, hearts, and death. Here is an author unafraid to push at the shape of what a story can be, what it can say. It's a bold, bright collection, full of imagination and wonderfully skilled writing.
Excellent Book
06 February 2009
An enjoyable read and more
Heady read
09 February 2009
I highly recommend Fifteen Modern Tales of Attraction. Vibrant, stunning stories.
Inspiring
09 February 2009
Alison is SUCH a fantastic writer, she like a sculptress, knowing where to smooth off edges and where to leave sharp contours to shock and excite. Her writing never leaves you wanting, it saturates you in so many emotions; never using an unnecessary word,you go from laughter to verging on tears and always taps in our deepest feelings on love, sadness and death, she is just a stunning writer who should be given the attention that she deserves.
Wonderful!
Stunning
09 February 2009
This book gets my vote - the stories are, by turns, emotional, distressing, exciting and challenging. They touched me with their lucid and mysterious view of how love strikes - especially moving was "Dirty Weekend"
Short story writing at its best
09 February 2009
This is a superb collection of short stories. The author really knows her craft. The stories cover an extraordinary range of emotions and issues and in such a way that you are drawn in almost instantly. Grief, joy, passion, humour,love, sex and science are all matters explored in a fresh and compelling style of writing. Magnificent!
Powerful Writing
10 February 2009
Each story in this collection captures something of what it is to love and be loved – passion, joy, fear, heartache and despair. And when that love is lost, either slowly through illness, as in 'Dirty Weekend', or abruptly in the July 7 bombings in 'so that the land was darkened', the stories achieve a haunted poignancy seldom found in novel form. Truly inspirational writing.
Delicious
10 February 2009
Each one of Alison MacLeod's stories is a fresh revelation - surprising, delightful, sexy, moving and funny, and through the whole collection runs a seam of moments and images that linger long in the memory. Fifteen modern tales of attraction is one of those very rare books that while distracting you with a hand on your knee, whispers breathtaking secrets into your ear.
Whoah!
12 February 2009
Original, sexy.
Mmmmm!
14 February 2009
Disturbingly erotic, lucid and passionate.
Deserved winner!
15 February 2009
After each story in FMTOA, you are left not just feeling engaged and inspired by great writing but moved, provoked, challenged. They linger in your mind and thoughts, catching you off guard when you least expect it.
edgy, sharp, heartbreakng, merdent
16 February 2009
Alison's work has a huge brain behind it. The language is taut; the bones felt sharp underneath the writing. However, there is real feeling that stops just thought of sentimentallity. The reader becomes absorbed in the stories simply because the situations, mostly, are so easily identifiable.
Fabulous Stories
16 February 2009
How fantastic to see a short story collection in this shortlist. And what a fabulous collection it is!
a super tonic
16 February 2009
for an evening in, amazing stories, highly recommended.
Breathtaking Collection
16 February 2009
I keep this book by my bed and dip into it every now and again as a special treat -- it is too good to read all at once; I want to savour it. I love Alison MacLeod's writing - she has a style of her own. This book is packed with emotion, charm, wit, twists and turns, every story in the collection takes the reader on a journey they won't forget. This book gets my vote - it deserves to win.
Outstanding
20 February 2009
Outstanding, intriguing, compulsive and human.
Gripping and compelling, a wonderful collection of short stories
20 February 2009
MacLeods stories are fun, moving, well written and keep me coming back for more. I have followed her writing for years and she deserves recognition. How wonderful to see a short story collection on this shortlist. Fifteen Modern Tales of Attraction is award worthy.
Characters that stay with you
21 February 2009
These stories have a haunting quality that lingers long after you have enjoyed the read itself. Will now be checking out what the author has written previously.
A modern classic...
22 February 2009
Surprising, atmospheric, touching and remarkable...Truly a modern classic.
dirty weekend: a heartstriking story
23 February 2009
A very accomplished collection which contains one of the most truthful, death-defying love stories I've read anywhere.
Affecting
23 February 2009
Sharp, clear, evocative stories. They grab you, turn you around, and put you back much changed. I liked them.
perfect
24 February 2009
Brilliantly other while grittily familiar.
I agree with LAnderson!
24 February 2009
Please see above
Glorious!
26 February 2009
An original and compelling selection of stories. Fabulous poetic prose, yet never over-written. Absolutely timeless. Definitely one to keep next to the bed!
#1 choice
07 March 2009
Having read the books on the shortlist: this is a truly gifted author. My #1 choice. Surprised I am commenting to say I am sorry MacLeod did not win.
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