Legoland

Exploring the surreal through everyday life

Gerard Woodward author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Pan Macmillan

Published:23rd Mar '17

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Legoland cover

This collection features a range of stories that blend dark humor with surrealism. Legoland showcases the author's unique narrative style and emotional depth.

In Legoland, readers are treated to a captivating collection of stories from the acclaimed author Gerard Woodward, who has been shortlisted for both the Man Booker Prize and the Whitbread Prize. The narratives often begin in the realm of the ordinary, only to twist into unsettling territories where conventional rules of life seem to unravel. Each story is a unique exploration of the bizarre and the mundane, showcasing Woodward's signature style that blends dark humor with surreal elements and lyrical prose.

One of the standout pieces in Legoland is 'The Family Whistle,' which has garnered attention by being shortlisted for the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award. This particular story exemplifies Woodward's ability to weave together comedy and tragedy seamlessly, taking readers on an emotional rollercoaster that reflects the complexities of human experience. The collection as a whole is marked by a fearless approach to storytelling, where the familiar can quickly morph into the extraordinary.

Ultimately, Legoland is a testament to Woodward's remarkable talent as a storyteller. His ability to navigate the intricacies of life with wit and insight places him among the most original voices in contemporary literature. With each turn of the page, readers are invited to experience a world where humor and poignancy coexist, leaving a lasting impression long after the final story concludes.

A comic sensibility closer to Alan Bennett or Tom Sharpe. Woodward's rueful amusement isn't frivolity, it's a world view * Financial Times *
Gerard Woodward falls squarely between the comic lunacy of American short-form virtuoso George Saunders and the everyday rhapsodies of Raymond Carver * Time Out *
Woodward is a skilful writer, with a fertile imagination * Guardian *
At his best, Gerard Woodward is one of our finest writers . . . he writes with subtlety and skill * Daily Telegraph *
I thought Legoland was incredible. The stories are SO good at capturing the weird nuances of apparently straightforward, everyday interactions. It's not an exaggeration to say that reading them has made me look at the world more carefully. -- Rebbeca Wait, author of THE FOLLOWERS
There are echoes of Milan Kundera and Roald Dahl in these dark and gleeful explorations of the surreal . . . Woodward's stories astonish: they seem to offer a predictable direction, then swerve elsewhere. And just like the toy that lends the title story's playground its name, these narratives are meticulously designed, building into dazzling and surprising structures...the stories range in genre from realism to pseudo-fairytale and in geography from postwar Germany to Colorado...remarkable...a gifted writer * Guardian *

ISBN: 9781447288695

Dimensions: 197mm x 130mm x 20mm

Weight: 233g

320 pages