The first ever collection of Michael Marshall Smith's award-winning short stories. The first piece of fiction Smith ever wrote -- a short story called The Man Who Drew Cats -- won the World Fantasy award. It's included here along with many others, some unpublished, which show the incredible versatility of one of the most exciting writers working in Britain today. The collection is stuffed with surreal, disturbing gems including: 'When God Lived in Kentish Town' Someone comes up to you when you're quietly eating your stir-fried rice in a great Chinese take away, and tells you: 'I've found God'. You try to ignore them, right? But what if they have, and what if He works in a drab old electrical store on Kentish Town Road and he's not getting many customers? 'Diet Hell' Some people will do anything to fit into their old jeans. 'Save As!' What if you could back up your life? Save it up to a certain point and return to it when things went horribly wrong? 'Everybody Goes' An idyllic childhood day from a long, hot summer. The kind you want to last for ever. All good things must come to an end, mustn't they?
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
'Astonishingly distinctive short stories' Independent 'A story telling skill that can only be described as pure genius' Venue 'Very funny and decidedly surreal' Empire 'No one writes better than Smith about love: how it's won, how it's lost. No one writes better about being wasted -- by drugs, by drink, by time. Nigh-on unique' i-D
About the Author
Smith lives in north London with his wife Paula, and is currently working on screenplays and his next book, while providing two cats with somewhere warm and comfortable to sit.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
50% good, 30% great, 20% so-so, 100% weird,
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This review is from: What You Make It (Paperback)
MMS got me hooked from his first outing, "Only Forward". "Spares" was excellent too, but he's never quite reached the same heights since. This anthology, though, shows why MMS is still an author not to be taken lightly. There's an edgy, uncomfortable feeling you get when reading some of these stories - the kind you get when you watch the news about how the guy next door to you just got nailed for murdering his neighbour on the other side.
Some of the ideas in the book are so damn simple, yet come across as fresh and new, and you hope that the next short story will leave you just as breathless. Alas, this isn't the case. Some stories lack that 'oomph', and are merely interesting rather than creepy, merely normal not abnormal. If you like safe stories, you're better off not ready MMS anyway, but if you want something different, deep, yet wholely possible to imagine while you wend your way to work, this book can provide some nice recipies. Like the guy who recognises a co-worker from the images he downloads from a BDSM newsgroup, or the poor soul going mad trying to back up the data in his brain, or the unique ways to get even when you know you're going to hell in a handbasket. To expect a read as good as his best, you'll be disappointed. But I guarantee that there'll be at least a couple of stories in here that you'll carry in your head for the rest of your life. Spooky stuff for the unspookable.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Short Story Comp,
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Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: What You Make It (Paperback)
I have read a lot of short story compilations over the years, and I have to say that most of them have been somewhat of a disappointment, though I do give some credit to King's Everything is Eventual, most have a couple of good stories, with a lot of filler, and knowing that Michael Marshall (Smith) is my new favorite author, who I have been reading unquenchably as of late, I had to get this book, even though a part of me told me to not have my hopes set too high, as most people who do not write extensively in this format, really don't know how to make short stories complete or tight enough, and I have to say that I was really surprised at how the author was able to put his unique stamp on every single story, and has gotten more in my head with this book than almost any other, except maybe for Straw Men, but I also have to give credit to him on just how diverse this selection is. If you are a horror or suspense fan with sick sense of humor, this book should be heavily sought after.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
smiths what you make it,
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Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: What You Make It (Paperback)
good book of short stories. i love micheal marshall smiths spares and one of us. so i have to read all i can find of his and was not disapointed in what you make it.
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