Book description
In 'Till the Cows Come Home', Bonfire Night 1956 is fast
approaching, and while mother-of-one Ruby proudly carries her
immaculate 'Bonfire Cake' into the middle room, her devilish daughter
Garnet is upstairs tormenting her school friend and temporary
houseguest, Jane. Abruptly, we leave this story and are transported to
1993 where Garnet, addressing the reader, begins to tell her own tale,
and ponders the distorting and lingering effects of nostalgia.
In 'The World's Smallest Unicorn', Teddy arrives on the doorstep of
his brother and sister-in-law after being made redundant following
twenty years spent in Hong Kong. Despite his warm affection for his
nieces and the conciliatory gifts he presents the family with, he
can't help noticing his sister-in-law's hostility and impatience with
his presence. However, as a tangled history of the family's
relationships begins to reveal itself, it becomes clear that the cause
of Fan's irritation may not be what it first appears.
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).
