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How Shall I Know You?: A Short Story by [Hilary Mantel]

How Shall I Know You?: A Short Story Kindle Edition

by Hilary Mantel (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

3.7 257 ratings

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"She looked up and smiled. She had a face of feral sweetness, its color yellow; her eyes were long and dark, her mouth a taut bow, her nostrils upturned as if she were scenting the wind."

In "How Shall I Know You?," a melancholic and ailing writer reluctantly travels east of London to give a lecture before a literary society. Mr. Simister, the organization's secretary, lures the world-weary novelist turned biographer with promises of a modest stipend and lodging at a charming bed-and-breakfast for her trouble. Nevertheless, on that rainy day she meets Mr. Simister at the train station, she wonders why she ever agreed to come in the first place. Driving past steel-shuttered windows and Day-Glo banners, Mr. Simister takes the writer to her hotel for the evening, which turns out to be crumbling and isolated rather than picturesque. As she crosses the threshold into the dank stench of Eccles House she is faced with the feral porter, Louise, and suffers through an evening that may be more than she bargained for.

From Hilary Mantel's brilliant and darkly comic collection of contemporary stories, The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher, comes a tale told with her distinctive blend of subversive wit and gimlet-eyed characterization. "How Shall I Know You?" showcases the extraordinary genius of Hilary Mantel, called one of our "greatest living novelists" (NPR).

Print length

26 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

Henry Holt and Co.
Publication date

August 26, 2014
File size

1247 KB
Page Flip

Enabled
Word Wise

Enabled
Enhanced typesetting

Enabled
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00MLMI7SW
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Henry Holt and Co. (August 26, 2014)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 26, 2014
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1247 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 26 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #1,941,344 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #2,764 in Literary Short Stories
- #5,230 in 45-Minute Literature & Fiction Short Reads
- #26,726 in Single Authors Short Stories

Customer Reviews:
3.7 257 ratings

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Customer reviews

3.7 out of 5

257 global ratings

5 star		34%
4 star		28%
3 star		20%
2 star		9%
1 star		9%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Tonya

I was happy to read more of Mantel's work

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 10, 2015

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While I wait for the third of the Cromwell trilogy, I was happy to read more of Mantel's work. Given this is a contemporary story, it offers me a different take with her writing which still contains moments of sharp, acerbic wit and even more with tenderness in the heroine's reflections. It's a humorous yet dark tale of an author's adventure to a book club reading from Mantel's collection, The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher, which I've added to my TBR list.

Helpful

Alexandra

Dark mood short story

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 10, 2020

Verified Purchase

I appreciate the coherence in style, the darkness and heaviness that are a trademark of Hilary Mantel. Easily recognizable and dependable. What I miss is the “why?”. Could not figure the reason of the story, why write it, what was it meant to convey.

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Alice

Meets Mantel's usual high standards

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 31, 2014

Verified Purchase

As a long-time fan of Hilary Mantel, I was not surprised to find that I loved this story. Like in many of her novels (such as "Beyond Black"), she combines a mordant wit with exquisitely honed observations to produce a captivating work. Many short stories seem to stop, rather than come to an end, but this is not the case here: without any apparent contrivance, Mantel creates a perfect ending. This story whets my appetite for her upcoming collection of short stories and can help tide her fans over as we await the third volume of her Thomas Cromwell trilogy.

12 people found this helpful

Helpful

Skip

I am often distress at the way modern authors end ...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 19, 2014

Verified Purchase

I am often distressed at the way modern authors end their short stories. They no longer tell the end of the story but often tell the ending of another. The real story at the end merely references the mood or feelings of the first.

Helpful

Dorothy Dunn

The Joy of Reading Hilary Mantel

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 11, 2014

Verified Purchase

I have not yet read this so cannot rate it but Hillary Mantel writes so interestingly , how can it not be fine? I would think anything she wrote would be starry by definition. She deserves way more than the two stars here just for sending in her manuscript.

Dorothy Dunn

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 4, 2014

Verified Purchase

Almost perfect. Glorious language, sharply structured, done in twenty minutes at most. And an ending that completely changes what you thought it was about.

4 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

The book started with a very interesting idea. I ...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 19, 2014

Verified Purchase

The book started with a very interesting idea. I have come across this situation a few times when I had to check with the person "how would I know you'? But as the book progressed it failed to sustain my interest.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Rae W. Fuller

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 16, 2014

Verified Purchase

Great short stories by a magnificent writer.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Alexandra Slcock

I loved this book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 5, 2019

Verified Purchase

Hilary Mantel has the ability to describe people and places unlike any other author. Both funny and sad i feel that I can actually relate to the author and how she makes me want to read more and more of her books. She has a genuine ability to see things beyond our normal world and it makes me feel so glad that there are writers out there who are brave enough to put these thoughts and experiences into a book which I could not stop reading.

One person found this helpful

Lesley Edmondson

A Must Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 22, 2021

Verified Purchase

Another truly insightful story love Hilary Mantel

prendey

The best writer around

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 7, 2019

Verified Purchase

always so great to read but I have to keep the 5 stars for wolf hall and bring up the bodies.

nemisis

A good read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 2, 2015

Verified Purchase

Not sure whether this book was meant for the reader as a fact," faction" or fiction type book. A mix of all three I think. A good read though

jane

A highly amusing account of travels to book club talks.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 27, 2017

Verified Purchase

A very enjoyable piece of light hearted reading that I highly recommend others to read. This is a very short story ideal to fill in a waiting gap in your life!

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