All the Rage (Folio Prize Nominee)
by A. L. Kennedy
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Pub Date 6 Mar 2014 | Archive Date 15 Feb 2015
Random House UK, Vintage Publishing | Jonathan Cape
Description
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2015 FOLIO PRIZE
Shortlisted for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award
Here, as before, lies the battlefield of the heart, where characters who have suffered disaffection, alienation or emotional damage somehow emerge – haltingly, awkwardly – into the astonishment of intimacy. And here, too, are the ones who will not shake off the hurt and the loss, who will not come through.
The extraordinary title story takes place on a railway platform, with a couple waiting for a train that never comes, and opens out into the husband's shocking admission of years of deceit, and a devastating portrait of a failed marriage, a failed man. Another story shows a woman who is, in every sense, lost and who finds herself – to her bewilderment and alarm – walking the aisles of a sex emporium holding an electric penis. There is great compassion here, and deep, dark humour, but also a stronger sense than ever before that the emotional paralysis can be loosened – that an impossibly uncomfortable lunch, say, between two apparent strangers, can culminate in a passionate kiss. 'You do not know this man. He is practically a stranger. Only he's not.'
Shortlisted for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award
Here, as before, lies the battlefield of the heart, where characters who have suffered disaffection, alienation or emotional damage somehow emerge – haltingly, awkwardly – into the astonishment of intimacy. And here, too, are the ones who will not shake off the hurt and the loss, who will not come through.
The extraordinary title story takes place on a railway platform, with a couple waiting for a train that never comes, and opens out into the husband's shocking admission of years of deceit, and a devastating portrait of a failed marriage, a failed man. Another story shows a woman who is, in every sense, lost and who finds herself – to her bewilderment and alarm – walking the aisles of a sex emporium holding an electric penis. There is great compassion here, and deep, dark humour, but also a stronger sense than ever before that the emotional paralysis can be loosened – that an impossibly uncomfortable lunch, say, between two apparent strangers, can culminate in a passionate kiss. 'You do not know this man. He is practically a stranger. Only he's not.'
A Note From the Publisher
UK edition - available for readers in the UK, Europe and Commonwealth excluding Canada.
UK edition - available for readers in the UK, Europe and Commonwealth excluding Canada.
Advance Praise
The
book is filled with lyrical beauty, wry humour and acute observation,
imbued by a willingness to dig deep and give voice to the reader’s
rawest emotions. All the Rage is an outstanding collection, full of stories to be savoured. - List
This book celebrates love like a hungry dog celebrates the corpse of a rabbit... Kennedy is, if you like, the Anti-Cartland... Magnificently bleak. - Independent
One of the most consistently dazzling writers of her generation... Kennedy's stories are a little like love: no matter how many times they break your heart, you still come back for more. This collection proves, once again, that it is always worth it. - Independent on Sunday
[Kennedy] is the god of her own godless world. Her prose moves in more mysterious ways than mere comprehension will allow. - Scotland on Sunday
A.L. Kennedy's masterful new collection... Stories appear to roam chaotically, like the mind, but of course they are neat, perfect messes. - Herald
A satisfying diversity of experience and insight. - Literary Review
Full of moments of risk, which Kennedy's characters handle self-consciously and with care... She strings lyrical sentences together effortlessly. - Times Literary Supplement
Beautifully crafted... It would be impossible not to admire these stories. - Spectator
Kennedy dissects the small intimacies of inner thought and holds them palm-up, naked, there for our observation and evaluation. Her prose is typically direct, her sentences clear cut and yet capable of great tenderness. - Observer
Moving … Kennedy’s disjointed, angular style and weird, displaced atmospherics really work … skilful … distinctive and identifiable voice. - Financial Times
Full of heartache and the ways in which we hurt each other, and ourselves... Fans of Kennedy's quirky expressionism won't be disappointed. - Sunday Times
Evidence that, at her best, there’s no-one to touch Kennedy. - Civilian
Full of challenges and beauty. - Stylist
This book celebrates love like a hungry dog celebrates the corpse of a rabbit... Kennedy is, if you like, the Anti-Cartland... Magnificently bleak. - Independent
One of the most consistently dazzling writers of her generation... Kennedy's stories are a little like love: no matter how many times they break your heart, you still come back for more. This collection proves, once again, that it is always worth it. - Independent on Sunday
[Kennedy] is the god of her own godless world. Her prose moves in more mysterious ways than mere comprehension will allow. - Scotland on Sunday
A.L. Kennedy's masterful new collection... Stories appear to roam chaotically, like the mind, but of course they are neat, perfect messes. - Herald
A satisfying diversity of experience and insight. - Literary Review
Full of moments of risk, which Kennedy's characters handle self-consciously and with care... She strings lyrical sentences together effortlessly. - Times Literary Supplement
Beautifully crafted... It would be impossible not to admire these stories. - Spectator
Kennedy dissects the small intimacies of inner thought and holds them palm-up, naked, there for our observation and evaluation. Her prose is typically direct, her sentences clear cut and yet capable of great tenderness. - Observer
Moving … Kennedy’s disjointed, angular style and weird, displaced atmospherics really work … skilful … distinctive and identifiable voice. - Financial Times
Full of heartache and the ways in which we hurt each other, and ourselves... Fans of Kennedy's quirky expressionism won't be disappointed. - Sunday Times
Evidence that, at her best, there’s no-one to touch Kennedy. - Civilian
Full of challenges and beauty. - Stylist
Praise for Now That You're Back:
'One of the most brilliant writers of her generation' - Sunday Telegraph
Kennedy
has now proved that she is one of the few young writers to have found a
distinctive voice, one that we could recognise even from a couple of
sentences; and that in itself is already a considerable achievement - Mail on Sunday
Powerful, acute and wholly convincing - Sunday Times
Great
short stories are rare if not rarer than great poems and the fact that a
handful here possess great magical quality is remarkable... A. L.
Kennedy is a writer of original and beguiling diction - Scotland on Sunday
Funny, deadpan, angry, tender and despairing - Elle
Marketing Plan
A
dozen stories: a dozen ways of looking at love, or the lack of love.
Over five previous collections, A. L. Kennedy has shown herself to be a
master of the short form, with a perfect way with sentences and a voice
so distinct as to be instantly recognisable.
The new book from one of Britain’s finest prize-winning writers.
Stories to be serialised in lead-up to publication.
Author events around publication.
The new book from one of Britain’s finest prize-winning writers.
Stories to be serialised in lead-up to publication.
Author events around publication.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9780224098434 |
| PRICE | £16.99 (GBP) |
