Collected Stories

Description

For the first time all of Carol Shields' remarkable short stories -- some previously unpublished -- are gathered together in one paperback volume. In The Collected Stories we bring together Carol Shields' original short story volumes,Various Miracles, The Orange Fish and Dressing Up for the Carnival, some portions of which have never before been published in the UK. To these wonderful shorter fictions, we add a chapter from Carol Shields' last, unfinished, novel Segue, making this an essential and comprehensive overview of a brilliant writer. In all of these shorter works, Shields combines the dazzling virtuosity and wise maturity that she brought to so many readers in novels such as The Stone Diaries and Unless. With her exquisite eye for detail and her eagerness to explore the most fundamental of relationships and the wildest of coincidences, she illuminates the absurdities and miracles that grace all of our lives. Playful, charming, acutely observed and generous of spirit, this collection of stories will delight and enchant readers the world over.

Carol Shields's novels include Larry's Party (1997), winner of the 1998 Orange Prize; The Republic of Love (1992); Happenstance (1991) and Mary Swann (1990). Dressing Up for the Carnival, a bestselling collection of short stories, was published in 2000, and a previous collection, Various Miracles, was published in 1994. Born and brought up in Chicago, Carol Shields has lived in Canada since 1957. She was the Chancellor of the University of Winnipeg.

'This collection offers a timely reminder of the complexity, subtlety and sheer intelligence of her humane vision. Shield's virtuoso but unflashy skill in handling narrative structure and voice makes it easy to overlook the stories' self-conscious artistry and reflexivity, and they abound with characters who employ second-order creativity to good and bad ends. No one does the gradual dazzle better than Carol Shields.' Samantha Matthews, TLS 'Shields understood misdirection; and she always noticed what was really going on. Like Austen - whose biography was one of her last books - she knew the world's surfaces, but she also knew its depths.' Erica Wagner, The Times 'When you've been reading Carol Shields, you go outside, you listen to a conversation, you think about your own life or a friend's life, and you notice more. And for this she should be thanked'. Hermione Lee, Guardian 'What she offers ... is a study in eccentricity that relates it to the ordinary, familiar world. That's the world she never loses sight of ... in what will endure of her finest fiction.' Independent Praise for Carol Shields: 'Her perceptions are so quick, her style is so acute, that she can tack a breath to the page and skewer a thought on a wing. It is her speciality to isolate moments that remain distinct in the mind for years, perhaps for a lifetime.' Hilary Mantel, Sunday Times 'In her hands we believe anything can happen.' Guardian