Book description
In 'The Curtain with the Knot in It', the tube-and-bus journey
to the Daffodil ward of Croxted Memorial Hospital consumes Alice's
existence as she visits her ailing father. But a sinister string of
coincidences and self-fulfilling prophecies, triggered by Alice's
innocent act of kindness towards the strangely infantile staff member
Pauline, leads to devastating consequences.
In 'The Laughing Academy', Vincent McCloud, a failed
pop-star, leaves his late mother's Glasgow flat for the last time.
Stewing in bitterness and grief, his mind focuses on the smug face of
his former manager, Delves, who is the cause of his dying career.
Nursing his anger, Vincent decides to pay a visit to Delves' Bexhill
home. However, when he arrives at Delves' abode and is greeted by the
manager's neglected, disturbed wife, thoughts of revenge quickly leave
Vincent's mind.
Part of the Storycuts series, these two stories were previously
published in the collection The Atmospheric Railway.
Shena Mackay was born in Edinburgh. She is the author of four
previous collections of stories -
Babies in Rhinestones
,
Dreams of Dead Women's Handbags
,
The Laughing Academy
and
The World's Smallest Unicorn
. Her novels include
Dunedin
,
The Orchard on Fire
(which was shortlisted for the 1996 Booker Prize),
The Artist's Widow
and
Heligoland
(which was shortlisted for the 2003 Orange Prize).
