The Pier Falls: And Other Stories
(OverDrive MP3 Audiobook, OverDrive Listen)
The tales in Mark Haddon’s lyrical and uncompromising new collection take many forms—Victorian adventure story, science fiction, morality tale, contemporary realism—but they all showcase his virtuoso gifts as a stylist and the deep well of empathy that made his three bestselling novels so compelling.
The characters here are often isolated physically or estranged from their families, yet they yearn for connection. In aggregate the stories become a meditation on the essential aloneness of the human condition but also on the connections, however tenuous and imperfect, that link people to one another. In the title story, an unnamed narrator describes with cool precision a catastrophe that strikes a seaside town, both tearing lives apart and bringing them together.
In the prizewinning story “The Gun,” a boy’s life is marked by the afternoon he encounters a semiautomatic pistol belonging to his friend’s older brother; in “The Island,” a Greek princess is abandoned on an island by her abductor; in “The Boys Who Left Home to Learn Fear,” a group of adventurers travel deep into the Amazonian jungle but discover the gravest danger lurking among their own number; and in “The Woodpecker and the Wolf,” a woman wonders whether she has chosen to travel to Mars only to escape the entanglement of human relationships back here on Earth.
Drawing inventively from history, myth, folktales, and modern life, The Pier Falls showcases Haddon’s immense gifts of invention and penetrating insight.
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Mark Haddon. (2016). The Pier Falls: And Other Stories. Unabridged Books on Tape.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Mark Haddon. 2016. The Pier Falls: And Other Stories. Books on Tape.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Mark Haddon, The Pier Falls: And Other Stories. Books on Tape, 2016.
MLA Citation (style guide)Mark Haddon. The Pier Falls: And Other Stories. Unabridged Books on Tape, 2016.
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- From Mark Haddon, author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, A Spot of Bother, and The Red House, nine dazzling stories diverse in style but united in emotional power
The tales in Mark Haddon’s lyrical and uncompromising new collection take many forms—Victorian adventure story, science fiction, morality tale, contemporary realism—but they all showcase his virtuoso gifts as a stylist and the deep well of empathy that made his three bestselling novels so compelling.
The characters here are often isolated physically or estranged from their families, yet they yearn for connection. In aggregate the stories become a meditation on the essential aloneness of the human condition but also on the connections, however tenuous and imperfect, that link people to one another. In the title story, an unnamed narrator describes with cool precision a catastrophe that strikes a seaside town, both tearing lives apart and bringing them together.
In the prizewinning story “The Gun,” a boy’s life is marked by the afternoon he encounters a semiautomatic pistol belonging to his friend’s older brother; in “The Island,” a Greek princess is abandoned on an island by her abductor; in “The Boys Who Left Home to Learn Fear,” a group of adventurers travel deep into the Amazonian jungle but discover the gravest danger lurking among their own number; and in “The Woodpecker and the Wolf,” a woman wonders whether she has chosen to travel to Mars only to escape the entanglement of human relationships back here on Earth.
Drawing inventively from history, myth, folktales, and modern life, The Pier Falls showcases Haddon’s immense gifts of invention and penetrating insight. - reviews
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- content: Haddon, whose celebrated novel THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME became an instant classic, presents a short story collection united by themes of empathy and fearless honesty. Claire Corbett's performances are precise and bright; they feature careful pacing and enthusiasm that invites the listener into each story. Daniel Weyman's performances have a brisk, wry delivery; his tone serves to make the stories he animates even more lively. The nine stories vary widely in subject matter and impact. Listeners can expect each title to create a completely new experience as it presents yet another harrowing human trial. A few stories fall short, but this collection will make listeners willing to take each journey nonetheless. L.B.F. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
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Starred review from September 15, 2016
Wildly varying in topics from a seaside disaster in the titular opening story to an unlikely relationship that develops between an older man and the suicide attemptee he rescues in "The Weir," Haddon's nine stories here are thematically linked through a common sense of aloneness that haunts his characters. The sole survivor of a royal massacre in ancient Greece is deserted on "The Island" and struggles to stay alive. A woman joins a mission to Mars in "The Woodpecker and the Wolf," seemingly to escape the burden of earthbound relationships. A daughter returns to her childhood home in "Breathe" and is harshly confronted by her estranged mother and resentful sister. By revealing the dark disconnects, Haddon exposes the vulnerability of isolated individuals, masterfully eliciting ready empathy from listeners. Clare Corbett and Daniel Weyman take turns narrating; Corbett is unequivocally the stronger, with a wider, more versatile emotive range. VERDICT Haddon groupies will surely be driven by curiosity to pick up Falls and be gratified with unexpected rewards. Literary short story aficionados will want to explore and appreciate, as well. ["In pristinely detailed prose, Haddon shocks us with the strong sense of our humanity. Highly recommended": LJ 3/15/16 starred review of the Doubleday hc.]--Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC
Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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March 7, 2016
Haddon’s (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) collection of nine short stories is a mélange of acutely observed domestic dramas and bizarre tales of life in outer space, ancient Greece, and a trip to a remote corner of the globe to retrieve a lost explorer. Highlights include “Bunny,” which recounts the story of a 27-year-old man who weighs 518 lbs. due to his addiction to junk food; “Breathe,” the story of a woman who returns to England from her expatriate life in California to face the relics of her desiccated family; and “Wodwo,” which combines family holiday-time melodrama with the appearance of a strange man who may be a character straight out of British folklore. “The Island,” about a princess who finds herself left on an island, and the titular “The Pier Falls,” which calmly recounts a seaside disaster, are quietly unrelenting in their descriptions of horror. Subtle strands often serve to connect the stories to one another, whether it’s a problematic mother or the smell of ammonia on someone’s dying breath. Though each story is beautifully written, Haddon is at his best when capturing the peculiarly dark, British mirth that accompanies disaster. Agent: Clare Alexander, Aitken Alexander Associates.
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