The collection features ten engaging stories set in diverse locations, including Pittsburgh, Hawaii, and Europe. Each narrative is populated by a rich array of characters—friends, lovers, and family—who navigate the complexities of life, revealing that reality often diverges from expectations. With a blend of poignancy and humor, the stories create a cohesive and beautifully crafted whole, showcasing Sharon Dilworth's skill in portraying the intricacies of human relationships. This collection is a heartfelt exploration of life's unpredictability.
"Suddenly exiled from Paris by her father, fifteen-year-old Agnes finds herself living in the south of France with her sister Sophie, her ailing grandfather and two servants in the family's long-neglected summer villa. Without any friends, they begin exploring the Riviera as a means of distracting themselves from the mysterious scandal that has sent their family south. It is against the postwar backdrop of the Cãote d'Azur where they meet Jules Agard, a self-described man of leisure who takes them under his wing, acting as their tour guide, confidant, and chauffeur. While obligingly showing them a bit of jet-set glamour, Jules shares his two burning passions with Agnes: the brilliant artist Henri Matisse, who is completing his chapel at Vence, and Fausto Coppi, the great Italian cyclist who is the only man to have won both the Tour de France and Giro de Lombardia in the same year. It is a confusing place for Agnes to come of age: the beauty of the ocean and the clarity of the light are no match for the opaque intrigues that swirl around her life. By the time the summer has ended, she has learned that deceit can be as consuming as love, and while beauty might remain constant, this Riviera is a place where people come to reinvent themselves, regardless of the consequences."--
Back-in-print, a novel about a woman who has difficulty facing up to reality. How well do you know your neighbors? How well do you know yourself? Caroline, thrown back on her own resources when she loses her job, focuses her attention on the street where she lives and becomes involved in the goings-on of the neighborhood. Before long she falls in love with her neighbor's husband and builds a fantasy life around him, believing her feelings are returned. It takes the threatened safety of a child to make Caroline see her life as it really is and to realize that she is not the only one on the street who has difficulty facing up to reality.
What is a city? Do people make cities or do cities make people? And can cities have second lives? We all inhabit cities, but what do they mean to us? What do we mean to them? Is the city a real thing in the 21st century? How do we integrate their pasts to their futures? What are the threats facing cities in the western world? These are just some of the questions posed by the fascinating studies in this book. Through essays, poems, psychogeography, short stories, and more, an array of today’s leading writers and thinkers join together to look at cities in the western world. Focusing on the two former industrial heartlands of Glasgow and Pittsburgh, this international and diverse collection is asking the big questions and getting the most creative answers. From Will Self’s psychogeography of Glasgow, to National Book Award winner Terrance Hayes’ stunning poetry, this collection will make you think, feel, fear, and fight for what part cities play in our daily lives. Bold, diverse, and daring, these pieces are a must for anyone who cares about where we live and what it means to live in the urban sprawl of now. Will Self, Jane Mccaffery, Edwin Morgan, Ewan Morrison, Terrance Hayes, Allan Wilson, Louise Welsh, Kapka Kassabova, Gerald Stern, Doug Johnstone, Lori Jagielka, Hilary Masters, David Kinloch, Yona Harvey, Sharon Dilworth, Lee Gutkind, Richard Wilson, and many more.
