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Blood
"Blood is a virtuoso work: the writing sinewy and beautiful... the integrity of vision coruscating; the whole driven by the author's restless experimentation with form. And at least two stories, "Blood" itself and "Fearless", will certainly end up in anthologies: not Best Scottish Writers, or Best Women Writers, but quite simply, Best." - New Statesman and Society
"I rememb...more
"I rememb...more
Hardcover, 178 pages
Published
November 12th 1991
by Random House
(first published 1991)
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The tales in Blood take real life and filter it through dense, sometimes fragmented prose, until it becomes… more concentrated, one might say. In the title story, for example, a girl has her tooth removed by the dentist, and her desire to stanch the bleeding comes to represent something of a wish to hold herself in, as it were. ‘Plastering the Cracks’ begins with the straightforward premise of a woman calling in workmen to repair a room, but treats its material with a twist of absurdity, as the...more
Sometimes I have trouble reading stories this short, because my attention span doesn't allow for me to read more than one or two at a time and then I spend three weeks on a 180-page book that I could have read in a day or two. But it's good! Some stories (the title story, and a couple of others) are better than others (ie. the longest story) but overall it's definitely worth reading. Start with The Trick Is To Keep Breathing, though, if you haven't read her before.
The title story of this collection has the most realistic description of a trip to the dentist since McTeague or Huysman's Against the Grain. Great story, too. This collection is marked by a compressed, and vibrant language; as well as continuous experimentation with form. The willingness to explore non-traditional approaches to the story is refreshing, and combined with the compression of language, makes this a real find. Not sure what to make of some of these pieces, but it’s a pleasurable rea...more
Blood is a collection of short stories by Scottish writer, Janice Galloway. These stories are told from a distinctly female point of view and examine the interplay between men and women, often the effect that men have on women and specifically the effects on women of living in a male dominated society. Galloway's writing is superb. She takes chances another writer would not take or would take but fail and her peculiar strength is in conveying a wealth of emotion in a few simple words. These twen...more
Smashing.
Re-reading I think. Pretty sure I read this collection of short stories when it first came out. Cannot be sure though. Liking it so far.
this was a completely different book for me to read as its all short stories. all the stories are very harsh, some rather sad some grim. it was interesting to read something that was outside my usual box but i dont think i will return for more
A very challenging particularly the final story... But a worthwhile read.
Janice Galloway is simply the best writer, ever.
Apr 10, 2013
Lily
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Janice Galloway was born in Ayrshire in 1955 where she worked as a teacher for ten years. Her first novel, The Trick is to keep Breathing, now widely considered to be a contemporary Scottish classic, was published in 1990. It was shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel, Scottish First Book and Aer Lingus Awards, and won the MIND/Allan Lane Book of the Year. The stage adaptation has been performe...more
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Nov 27, 2010 07:44am