[x]
Oops - we couldn't find that author.
My rating:
add to my books
Loading...
Balancing on the Edge of the World
by
Elizabeth Baines (Goodreads Author)
These are stories about power: children without it and adults vying to get or keep it - the boy caught between divorced parents, the arts worker conman, the avenging wife. Sometimes funny, sometimes moving, and always surprising: for it's a slippery thing, power, and nothing is ever quite what it seems ...
Paperback, 108 pages
Published
October 1st 2007
by Salt Publishing
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-23
of
23)
I loved this book and Elizabeth was kind enough to answer a few questions about it as she swept around the blogosphere on her virtual book tour. You can read my questions and her answers here
view all 5 comments
Elizabeth Baines' collection of short stories, Balancing on the Edge of the World, is a slim volume, but what it lacks in heft it makes up for in emotional power. The stories themselves are often quite short--some might even be considered micro-fiction--but there is nothing small about what they have to say.
Here are some of the stories in a nutshell:
A group of young people, drunk, go out for a pizza, and realize they are not much better off than the beggar they meet outsi...more
Here are some of the stories in a nutshell:
A group of young people, drunk, go out for a pizza, and realize they are not much better off than the beggar they meet outsi...more
If you're interested in traditional stories with beginnings, middles and endings with plots and clearly-defined characters then this may not be the book for you. If you subscribe to the slice-of-life school of storytelling and you believe that a story can get by with a point rather than a plot and if you don't need a CV for every character who pops his head into the tale then read on. This is storytelling for the 21st century. No preamble, no pussyfooting around. Readers are expected to contribu...more
I realised as I read through that I had read some of these stories before in UK mags of the 80s & 90s (london Magazine, Stand, Bananas, Firebird) and it was great to see them collected together along with others here.
These are stories of adultery, childhood, family told with warmth and sharpness:
In the wood there's something cracking.
Angela Johnson leaves the gate swinging. Down the hill there are boys, JOhnson boys breaking branches and slinging them. They jump, k...more
These are stories of adultery, childhood, family told with warmth and sharpness:
In the wood there's something cracking.
Angela Johnson leaves the gate swinging. Down the hill there are boys, JOhnson boys breaking branches and slinging them. They jump, k...more
Absolutely wonderful collection of short stories. Some of the best writing I have read in years.
Not so much a collection of short stories. More a collection of jewels that have been dusted off and collected together so that they shine brightly.
Not so much a collection of short stories. More a collection of jewels that have been dusted off and collected together so that they shine brightly.
An excellent and varied collection - highly recommended by me.
I wrote it, so I've decided not to rate it. What did I learn from putting this collection together? That although I had been trying hard to make every story different from every other when I wrote them, I had all along been obsessed with particular themes...
Julia Walsh
marked it as to-read
John
added it
Elizabeth
marked it as to-read
Matt
added it
Chris Hamilton-Emery
added it
|
|
Daniel
marked it as to-read
Tania
marked it as to-read
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her collection of stories BALANCING ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, and her latest novel, TOO MANY MAGPIES, are published by Salt Publishing. In October 2010 Salt reissued her groundbreaking first novel, THE BIRTH MACHINE.
Praise for Elizabeth's work:
'Moving and compelling' - Sarah Salway on Too Many Magpies
'Quite swept me...more
More about Elizabeth Baines...
Praise for Elizabeth's work:
'Moving and compelling' - Sarah Salway on Too Many Magpies
'Quite swept me...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
