The Land at the End of the Working Day

by Peter Crowther

A collection of four stories by Peter Crowther with individual introductions by Ian McDonald, Joe Hill, Elizabeth Hand and Lucius Shepard.On a windswept corner of Manhattan, just a stone's throw from the weathered facade of the legendary Chelsea Hotel, there's a small two-flight walkdown bar called The Land At The End Of The Working Day. Stop in and rest awhile... you'll meet the most fascinating people.There's Jack Fedogan, widowed these past few years and still carrying a torch for his beloved Phyllis while he plays smooth jazz on the barroom's battered PA system. And the wonderful triptych of regular imbibers... Edgar Nornhoevan, Jim Leafman and McCoy Brewer, meeting up to escape the world outside or to have a drink with like-minded souls or maybe just to share a few jokes.And meet one-off visitors. Folks like Gandalph Cohen, the magical caretaker of the City's welfare; Front-Page McGuffin, who, it has to be said, has been in better health; Bernard Boyce Bennington, who carries a torch for a woman who loved him and left him (with a bizzarely magical memento); and Horatio Fortesque and Meredith Lidenbrook Greenblat, scholars of the works of the great Jules Verne and hot on the trail to a doorway to another world... a doorway that could just be situated in a backroom of one of Manhattan's strangest watering holes.So do come visit - you'll never want to leave!

144 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2008

About the author

Peter Crowther, born in 1949, is a journalist, anthologist, and the author of many short stories and novels. He is the co-founder of PS Publishing and the editor of Postscripts.

Reviews

[Canavan · Rating 4 out of 5]

✭✭✭½

“Gandalph Cohen & the Land at the End of the Working Day” (2008) ✭✭✭
“Bernard Boyce Bennington & the American Dream” (2008) ✭✭✭½
“Front-Page McGuffin & the Greatest Story Never Told” (2008) ✭✭✭✭
“Cliff Rhodes & the Most Important Journey” (2010) ✭✭✭✭

[Mary Good · Rating 3 out of 5]

Narrator was not consistent with the voices used for the characters except the bartender. No significant women characters which was disappointing. Backgrounds of a couple of main characters seemed to switch. It was amusing but I don't think I'll bother with anymore.