Book description
A cracking collection of short stories from the author of the
stupendous 'Swimmer'.
In the title story of this sharp, clever collection of short stories,
an odd-job man arrives home to his Bradford council block to find a
message waiting for one of its inhabitants…in ten-foot-high letters.
With his white van and set of ladders, he's the chief suspect. But who
is the mysterious Slag that has the whole street gossiping; and who has
she hurt?
In 'Wrestling Jacob', a lusty academic takes out his frustrations down
on the farm every weekend, sparring with a fierce, strangely human ram.
It's hard work being beaten up by a sheep, but he soon realizes that his
girlfriends love to see him wrestle Jacob…
And in 'Coddock', there's a bold new chipshop owner in town. But who is
he? And what do you get if you cross a cod with a haddock, anyway?
From the backstreets of Bradford to dingy moorland pubs with
ten-year-old jukeboxes, Bill Broady's bright new stories give Yorkshire
a lick of new paint, with all of the searingly precise prose, wit and
energy of his highly acclaimed first novel, 'Swimmer'. Praise for 'Swimmer':
'A dark, shimmery story, full of damage and wonder.' Elle
'Echoing the aspirations of its heroine, Broady's stunning narrative
seems to hover in its own distinctive element and, at times, to soar and
fly. In prose of poetic precision and poignancy, he touches on the
deepest dreams of the human heart.' Observer
'A skewed fairy tale, a hymn to water…Broady's descriptions of swimming
are supple, fluid and memorable.' The Times Bill Broady was educated
in York and London. A former croupier, care worker and cartographer, he
lives in West Yorkshire.
