From Publishers Weekly
In a story titled "Dead Labor" ("Capital is dead labor," said Marx) that is more like a morality tale and as methodically plotted, the narrator has pledged his dying "mentor" to complete the writing of a final project, a Marxist analysis of culture. Concurrently he is offered a job as restaurant reviewer for a glitzy magazine along with the pleasures of the flesh provided by its female editor. Between her enticements and the flashy night life of London, his will dissolves until nothing is left of his former seriousness. So too is the affair fated to end in inertia and void. In the nine stories of this first collection by a resourceful English writer in command of a supple, lyrical style, reality and fantasy, imagination and its perversions come close to fusion. Class and caste, money and sex are the themes and points of reference of these involving tales.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
In these nine stories, the young Englishman Lasdun emerges as a new writer whose imaginative voice can perplex and enthrall. He gives us not only an unusual perspective on life but characters who are alter egos of ourselves, with many of our repressed desires and lusts, dreams and nightmares. Particularly effective are the stories "Dead Labor," "Heart's Desire," and "Escapes," yet each story has a singular viewpoint that allows the author imaginatively to dissect the puzzlement of being human. Lasdun has fine creative control, and these stories ably demonstrate his abundant potential. Glenn O. Carey, English Dept., Eastern Kentucky Univ., Richmond
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
