Revuews sébifiunow Ordinary Heroes h : I '

v ALSO PUBLISHED . ,, ,, Candace Bushnell i I, , .I , Lipstick Jung/ei’hree

snow 810R” 8 CRAIG DAVIDSON

Rust and Bone , ,, I. , ,. t J ,\ women called VlClOW. (l)!(2£t(l()tt O... \ ,‘ ,‘ .. Wendy and NICO do It's rare to happen upon collections of short fiction from debut authors. The ' " " 1 T r ' ‘I the" Utmos‘ to may on very fact that the publisher has deigned to release them into the universe 1 r y ° ; ;,' . :3 r ‘0“- 00‘" l” "‘9 suggests unprecedented quality despite the abiding wisdom in this country . pg, 1,, r .. f. . DGCerOm am! the that the short story is a springboard to the all-important novel; the amuse- . .g i: . . ,v. .v . , board'OOm- SOUHUS bouche to the eminently more marketable main course. The publishing ( ) r (I n a r , 1' 2 y a, . 1 . y o v ' "alIlllIl'llIgly lam'lk'" world on the other side of the Atlantic is slightly more enlightened, ) ' t ' I Abdws'

Canadian authors such as Alice Munro and Mavis Gallant having carved out We 8 .' w . .-.‘"~- Tim Dedopu'os me . , Brotherhood Subtitled

illustrious careers working exclusively in the short form. Now, a young ' t’M': urnai: 2"" r . I compatriot has emerged from the land of the Maple Leaf, with a striking i :r' w t .irz ' : ' ' . ,: w .ms'de W? 59”“ I first collection that’s already garnered praise from the eminent likes of Clive a: :w: i. .a t2""1."~'t, "urn -' ~ .w w . . . ' «: Won” 0' “00'”ng ' Barker and Bret Easton Ellis. TTT' :;.. v~ ; i_:.:- at. u.’ : ‘_ a .2 rw ;~ wt. And DQdODUIOS ShOUld Craig Davidson's Rust and Bone is peopled with edgy, desperate tw 3. xxx: twat: wt's frmmwt ': 1'2»! .w I know bemg the characters such as bare knuckle boxers, dog fighters and sex addicts. In m" ; w "r: : H: W r i) grandson 0‘ 8 mg“ ‘Rocket Ride’ a narcissistic whale trainer is brought pathetically low when it“) My ..: r .a rm“ it.» : rank'w "WW an Orca shears off his leg. ‘The Rifleman’ explores the relationship between ".‘Y‘I'; « II I I I I II 'V‘andshake“ Car/’0’" an outrageously competitive dad and his indifferent son. Throughout, the ' ‘.-";'...:.'af :~ twg' .; ’M‘AINE Xejsfval '4’“:ng YO“ author harnesses his incredible insight to illuminate his characters' fight tw mm r v ', “w Fallen I’IL 0’ “6 “9 against emasculation, rendering their struggle in spare, startling detail and :1 " r: /*"-'>' " 2 (III. , , .... S on Story COHQCI'O” revealing whole lives in a fistful of pages. Indeed, the catalogue of violence ’_ " 2 . 2': iv : "Om 8“ mam wmer recorded here verges on the dizzying. But what sets Davidson apart from (in: c- " ‘.' r; ' ; E ,v '~ «. * .z " ' reported to have the his peers is the sheer energy and clarity of his prose, all eight of the stories 1. " z 2’ ' x: r f \ .a 1' 39"“ of Wm We'Sh' Alan Bennett and TS

collected here blasting forth with fresh, precise imagery. (Allan Radcliffe) f;»'-'w»-:at ~:. ' 1 ~ ,‘ N m ' , ,. , . , , . . .I Eliot C0ursmg through

V \ i. j... ,.. j . I . M H . ., I him. Canongate. SHORT biOWEb . ,, V ,. , ... , t. Alan Ford Thin Ice 6 .18..5\.li.5»()l‘t7()tu.",.t.v t .i.‘7 1.1: .1 '1': (1- / ‘7 til 1 1‘ t/ I ,] Lt, ,grw‘ . VHW V 0".‘. '3!‘ vw~ 'y\l\,‘ , n .{ , v‘ w 'u\< vv {. "t (.t.,..i..:s (Hams .i _: . I: .i I: - r - . s -, N t F T h imp: t r{)(‘.rl flx w “wk w so “I E—rirw‘ y ,n. n I“, I" i {I'm I1.I. ,o' 0 es rom a ur IS I, *' _. , ,'... as The Long Good Whorehouse ~'~ v u ' 1‘ - r

“8" C Li 4t); V i ,. ,, I . I, Friday and Snatch and ’tthltlifz ., .. I "‘7‘ II, n, I. r'. W... ~L I II II IIII I/ “I, I nOVI/ If... . IV (1‘ I, \ _ n I II‘ I “.4 II(. ‘I t For :lwwg. tCyo it: a unfit 1" ’"Kl.\ll -.I»mI;IIn¢I (f .80.; 0,93,: II I II II .IIIII I V U wondrous ttw‘g). FC' "'"rd‘m" "wia'm‘o '; aw: ::"r> ' These Are Only Words . ', I '~ I; ;.g.;,«; Work aCtOV Wing others. 't's an fj‘,“",, , H 1.2:: are .'..:ik;>::, I; ' 'C’VTWH 000 MM}... (I. I. . desperately to secure unrepentant hoot m the C, on. a I,I}.. SILVIA; “I: IIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIII III III II m8 Inext JobI Weldenfe/d 8 NICO/SOD.

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