The Book of Leeds: A City in Short Fiction

Reading the City: A City in Short Fiction

by Maria Crossan (Editor), Tom Palmer (Editor, Contributor), Tony Harrison (Contributor)

The thoughtful stories featured in this collection capture the soul of the city of Leeds by tracing the unique contours of 50 years of social and economic change. In one story the Millgarth Police Station reverberates with the early adrenaline rush of a case they won’t close for years. Another tells of a teenage boy who trails the city center bars of the 1980s in thrall to his hero, a Leeds United football hooligan. Despite being products of their time, these stories remain distinct from the larger events and wider currents that have shaped the cultural landscape of today’s Leeds, a modern city with both problems and promise. Featured authors include Tony Harrison, Jeremy Dyson, Shamshad Khan, Ian Duhig, David Peace, Susan Everett, M. Y. Alam, Andrea Semple, Martyn Bedford, and Tom Palmer.

Genres: Short Stories

184 pages, Paperback

First published October 26, 2006

Reviews

[the great gretsby · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

i have to admit i still struggle to ~get~ short stories sometimes and often feel like something is missing when i finish reading them, and this has also been true for many of the stories in this collection. i did really enjoy some of them though and love that the stories chosen truly reflect the diversity of the city. will definitely come back to this collection at some point and hopefully some of the stories will make more sense to me when i read them for a second time!

[Ocean G · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with pretty much any collection of short stories. These were hit or miss. But there were some great hits in here, so I will be looking for more from some of the authors.

My favorites:
"Finding Polish" by M.Y. Alam
"Michael" by Jeremy Dyson (I think)
"The Falling" by Susan Everett
"Twenty five reasons" by Andrea Semple

I should probably add, I have no desire to visit Leeds after having read these stories.

[S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was alright. Well written and a nice sampler of Leeds born authors. However, I bought it in hopes of reading more works by David Peace, but it seems these stories may actually just be excerpts from the authors' other pre-existing work. Peace's was an excerpt from his Red Riding Quartet, which I had already read and would not have bought this book had I known that these weren't complete short stories.

So if you're looking for a nice sampler, this is a good book. But if you're looking for complete stories, this may disappoint.