We Are Attempting to Survive Our Time
Stories of struggle, resilience, and the human experience
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Vintage Publishing
Published:1st Apr '21
Should be back in stock very soon
This collection of stories reveals the struggles and triumphs of individuals navigating complex emotions and relationships. We Are Attempting to Survive Our Time showcases Kennedy's remarkable storytelling.
In We Are Attempting to Survive Our Time, A. L. Kennedy explores the complexities of human experience through a series of poignant narratives. Each story delves into the lives of characters grappling with their emotions, navigating a landscape filled with humor, fantasy, rage, and despair. These elements serve both as a source of strength and as obstacles, highlighting the delicate balance of human relationships. The protagonists face changing circumstances and accumulating losses, leading to moments of understanding and tenderness that resonate deeply with readers.
The collection features a diverse cast of characters, including a woman who reaches her breaking point at the zoo after enduring years of racism, a micro-celebrity rehearsing lines for a show that will never happen, and a bride who leaves her honeymoon suite in the dead of night. Each story serves as a testament to Kennedy's keen observational skills and her ability to craft narratives that are both relatable and thought-provoking. Her writing is characterized by a directness that does not shy away from the raw aspects of life.
Kennedy's prose is celebrated for its clarity and emotional depth, making We Are Attempting to Survive Our Time an essential read for anyone interested in the intricacies of modern existence. Through her unsparing examination of personal relationships and societal issues, she reaffirms her status as one of today's most compelling storytellers.
Quite astonishing... A masterclass in the possibilities of the short story form. * Scotsman *
AL Kennedy’s latest collection of wise, funny, human short stories came at just the right time. I...emerged feeling better about the world than I had in a while... Kennedy is brilliant at subtly shifting the ground of her stories, gently rotating your perspective so that by the end you’re facing in quite the other direction, not sure of how you got there… [There is] waspish intelligence at work here. -- Alex Preston * Observer *
Striking, expertly constructed… Kennedy’s exquisite blending of the limits of pain and courage recall Primo Levi. -- Catherine Taylor * Financial Times *
AL Kennedy’s seventh collection of stories is a quite astonishing…clear-eyed…masterclass in the possibilities of the short story form; comical, plangent… Words indeed for our times. -- Stuart Kelly * Scotsman *
Kennedy is a superb writer and the canniness of her observation keeps you reading. -- Phil Baker * Sunday Times *
ISBN: 9781529111446
Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 17mm
Weight: 202g
288 pages