Book description
A prize-winning collection of vivid, accessible stories. These fresh,
contemporary stories can be read purely for the immense pleasure they
offer. However, the stories can also be read for the way they explore
elements from earlier works: from Maori myth and fairy tale to
masterpieces by writers such as Katherine Mansfield, James Joyce and
Anton Chekov. As the award-winning author says, those stories 'touched
me deeply and I can recall their substance without hesitation'. Using
them for inspiration, she also explores their concerns of dignity,
honesty, bravery, weakness and passion. 'Sue Orr's stories have that
riveting mesmerizing quality that makes the reader race on, hoping they
will never end, yet desperate to find out what happens next. Their
stylishness marks a new departure in contemporary short story writing,
her weaving of new and vibrant stories on to concepts that began with
the great masters of old is high-wire risk taking that succeeds
magnificently. I admire these stories immensely: by turn tender, sly,
comic, and always deeply informed about the ways of the human heart.' -
Fiona Kidman Sue Orr is a graduate of Bill Manhire's creative writing
programme at Victoria University in Wellington. She has been a
journalist and editor, and spent two years as Governor-General Dame
Silvia Cartwright's speechwriter. She has worked in England and France,
where two of her three children were born. She now lives with her family
in Auckland. From Under the Overcoat was shortlisted for the 2012 NZ
Post Book Awards at which it won the People's Choice Award.
