The dazzling new book from one of Britain's best-selling novelists.
A philandering art dealer tries to give up casual love affairs - seeking only stolen kisses as a substitute. A man recounts his personal history through the things he has stolen from others throughout his life. A couple chart the journey of their five year relationship backwards, from awkward reunion to lovelorn first encounter. And, at the heart of the book, a 24-year old young woman, Bethany Mellmoth, embarks on a year-long journey of wishful and tentative self-discovery.
The Dreams of Bethany Mellmoth depicts the random encounters that bring the past bubbling to the surface; the impulsive decisions that irrevocably shape a life; and the endless hesitations and loss-of-nerve that wickedly complicate it. These funny, surprising and moving stories are a resounding confirmation of Boyd's powers as one of our most original and compelling storytellers.
About the Author
William Boyd is the author of one work of non-fiction, three collections of short stories and thirteen novels, including the bestselling historical spy thriller Restless – winner of the Costa Novel of the Year – and Any Human Heart, in which the character of Ian Fleming features. Among his other awards are the Whitbread First Novel Prize, the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Prix Jean Monnet. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and an Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In 2005, he was awarded the CBE.
Industry Reviews
Boyd shows why he's so often compared to Graham Greene.... brilliant and bewitching collection of stories * Financial Times *
Like stealing badges, like shucking oysters, once you have one of these stories you can't stop. Lights out was after midnight * Times *
Clever and, yes, cinematic * Observer *
The stories, as is often the case with Boyd, are packed with characters whose lives are upended by random upheavals * Sunday Times *
Unfailingly amusing and clever * Guardian *
In a 2008 essay, Boyd explained that writing short stories gives him a welcome chance "to change habits, to experiment, to take risks, to try out different voices". And in the best stories here, it's a chance he takes full advantage of, serving up an impressive variety of settings and protagonists * Daily Telegraph *
Highly entertaining * Mail on Sunday *
Boyd is dependably a master of what's most true: an always elegant realist whose characters will get under your skin * GQ *
No one charts the highs and lows of the human condition like Boyd * Red *
A riveting short story collection from one of the best * Woman & Home *
Varied, entertaining * Daily Mail *
Spiky, sparking and simply brilliant * Sunday Mirror *
Enjoyably spot-on * Sunday Times *
What Boyd does so mesmerisingly...is make the insignificant utterly significant...you are confronted by the full force of Boyd's undeniable talent for storytelling, as he inventively plays with time and form, and infuses his prose with themes of lust, love and emotional incompetence * Stylist *
William Boyd is arguably one of Britain's finest living writers...compelling and highly entertaining * Sunday Express *
He is a skilled and humorous storyteller, and his pleasure in exploring life's uncertainties is apparent * i *
Boyd delights in themes of deceit and getting one over on the competition...such finely-honed prose * Evening Standard *
Quite brilliant. There has been no decline in the wit, the style, the precise observation * The Tablet *
These stories, by one of Britain's most compelling authors about how the post is inescapable - from random encounters to impulsive acts - is funny and surprising * Elle *
Boyd has always been eloquent, his narratives memorably stylish * Literary Review *
Smart, funny and compelling * The Times Books of the Year *
