Heading Inland

Description

Heading Inland is a funny, broody, saucy collection of stories about the kind of people you sometimes meet but might prefer to ignore. Barker creates a wonderfully fantastical and unimaginable world: an unborn baby escapes an unsuitable mother through a secret belly-button zip; a wayward and yet enigmatic man attempts to rescue eels from an East End pie shop; a young woman discusses her fascination in other women's breasts; a boy with his inside organs back to front desperately seeks attention; and a bitter old woman becomes bent on war with a tramp. This collection confirms Nicola Barker as one of the most versatile and original writers of her generation with a brilliant unconventional imagination she creates a new world that sparkles with dark humour.

Reviews

'Strange and magical - Barker goes from strength to strength.' - Sunday Telegraph 'A singular, soaring, stratospheric talent.' - Scotland on Sunday 'Devastatingly funny and totally original - only Will Self can match her for black humour and bizarre fabrications!No one else in England writes like this. Don't miss this book.' - Tatler 'A witty, demotic and unique talent.' - The Times 'The language is unfussy, direct, at times colloquial, and then, just when it is needed to produce the right emotional counterpoint, elegant and formal!What could have been heavy-handed in another writer's hands is here transformed into something light, enchanting and moving. Heading Inland achieves everything it sets out to do. Highly recommended.' - Literary Review 'Another extremely accomplished collection. The writing is sharp, intricate and stylish. Each story presents its own particular and perfectly realized world - Nothing is too weird or too ordinary for Nicola Barker. I can think of few writers who can make me think of Joe Orton one minute and Saul Bellow the next.' - Guardian

Author description

Nicola Barker was born in Ely in 1966 and spent part of her childhood in South Africa. Among her seven previous novels are 'Darkmans' (short-listed for the 2007 Booker and Ondaatje prizes, and winner of the Hawthornden) and 'Wide Open' (winner of the 2000 IMPAC Dublin Literary Award). She has also written two prize-winning collections of short-stories, 'Love Your Enemies' and 'Heading Inland', and her work has been translated into more than twenty languages. She lives in east London.

Stock Information

General Fields

• ISBN : 9780007435715
• Publisher : HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint : Fourth Estate Ltd
• Publication date : October 2011
• Dimensions : 197mm X 130mm
• Produced in : United Kingdom
• Availability date : January 2012
• Product Type : books

Special Fields

• Pages : 300
• Dewey classification : 823.92
• Bind : Paperback
• Author : Nicola Barker