Delirium Eclipse and Other Stories

by James Lasdun

Nine stories deal with an arrogant foreign aid administrator, a young radical who deserts his ailing leader, a college professor lost in the Paris Metro, a boy fascinated with his grandmother's jewels, and a greedy child's efforts to prevent his mother'sremarriage

Genres: Short Stories

200 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1985

About the author

James Lasdun was born in London and now lives in upstate New York. He has published two novels as well as several collections of short stories and poetry. He has been long-listed for the Man Booker Prize and short-listed for the Los Angeles Times, T. S. Eliot, and Forward prizes in poetry; and he was the winner of the inaugural U.K./BBC Short Story Prize. His nonfiction has been published in Harper’s Magazine, Granta, and the London Review of Books.

Reviews

[Perrilyn Pringle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I struggled to finish this. Just a bunch of stories. No real plot, character development or personality. Bland but melancholic, that feel of these stories I liked. Some parts were entertaining and gave a sense of delirium as the book implied which I appreciated. But as a whole these stories were incredibly boring to me. "England's Finest", "Property", and "The Spoiling" were the only stories as a whole I mostly enjoyed.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lasdun is an excellent writer. This is a collection of stories - he won the National Story Award (UK) a couple of years ago, and you can see why. Confusingly though some of these stories are in other collections so take care when you buy more than one collection you'e not getting the same stuff.