A collection of eclectic and original short stories that bring into focus those decisive moments in a person’s life whose significance may not be recognised at the time, but which often have profound and lasting impacts long into the future.
The distorted contours of human nature, as practised in the daily activities of professional footballers; the repercussions of a young man's visit to the battlefields of Flanders to visit his grandfather’s grave; a surprising encounter in a Parisian cafe; a boyhood friendship threatened by the evils of apartheid; the dilemma of parents excluded from their son’s wedding; the search for the author of a mysterious postcard. Choices made on the basis of what we know – or what we think we know – which come back to torment us, challenge us, enlighten us; attitudes and behaviour we can barely comprehend; routine events and situations that bring with them periods of great sadness or unexpected happiness; confusion and clarity when long-hidden truths are finally revealed.
Tragedy, comedy, romance and history – these stories explore the patterns of all our lives.
Ostracised by betrayal, isolated through indifference, gutted with guilt, or suffering from loss, the characters in these twenty-two stories are fractured and broken, some irreparably. In their struggle for acceptance, and their desperate search for meaning, they deny the past. Some abandon responsibility, others are running from something or someone. Some flee their homes and their homelands, while others return home, only to find themselves even more marginalized and estranged.
An intriguing mixture of stories, all in Leela Dutt’s inimitable
style – something here for everyone, and beautifully illustrated by Kate
Attfield.
Some are short and funny, some poignant – widows faced
with losing their grandchildren, a daughter burying her father and
dealing with a domineering mother. One endearing narrator is not human
at all but still strikes a chord with us. Time travellers visit Hans
Andersen’s Copenhagen; a young German boy is welcomed by some but by no
means all in Hertfordshire just after the war. Perilous adventures in a
hire car in the south of France are described by a lad who is unaware
that at the very moment he’s telling us about his family holiday, London
is under attack. A young Japanese car manufacturer encounters the
strange people of the South Wales Valleys – and their grandfather who
was a prisoner of war in Burma. Finally the life story of a Quaker
celebrating her ninetieth birthday at the end of the century.
Leela Dutt’s collection Fresh Beginnings will warm your heart and stay in your mind – it might even make you laugh!
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