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Hunter S Thompson like set of stories with themes of addiction and violence. Quite mixed set of stories with some more successful than others.

Beautifully written cradle to grave story of a man experiencing love, loss and joy. Very literate and culturally cross-referential. And an amazing death scene at the end.

Confusing and intriguing. The same / a similar story told with one subtle shift in the facts produces two quite distinct outcomes. I found the last 20 pages a little too hallucinatory, but perhaps I just need to read it again.

A lyrical exploration of identity, filial relationships and love set in Almeria (!) and briefly in Greece. Levy is often very dryly funny in presenting the relationship between a dutiful, but slightly resentful daughter, and her cantankerous, demanding mother. All layered with classical and mythological allusions and beautifully written. One star off only because I could have done with more.

Odd. A novella that feels like it could instantly be made into an A24 folk horror film, but which seems to be tackling issues well suited to Lyrik Nach Ausschwitz - how do you go on living when you’re survival is a contingency. Ultimately a little to thin to be successful I think, but interesting conceptually. Also not sure what to make of the reference list at the end.

A wonderful meditation on memory wrapped up in the horrors of the Second World War, the Holocaust and the Kindertransport. How Sebald can make a story narrated by someone we know almost nothing about, about another person acting as the de facto narrator most of the time, and with no paragraph breaks (save for photos) a pageturner, is masterful. And that last sentence has a plaikilar structure to those of the text!

Skilfully woven story told from 4 different perspectives with the reveal in the final section. The pay off is perhaps a little thin to justify the preceding 350 pages, but an enjoyable portrait of the 1920s and especially power by Amiga between men and women. The ‘big man’ bestriding the stage who actually owes it all to a woman.

Fun and funny. A sharp satire on cancel culture, identity politics and the publishing industry. The fundamental question: who has the right to tell a story?