London: Jonathan Cape, 1958
There are two main strands in this volume of P.H. Newby’s short stories. One is oriental and fantastic, the other English and lyrical. Of the former, Uncle Kevork, which tells of the young man who took his dead uncle on a train journey, was one of the first stories broadcast in the B.B.C.’s Third Programme. It provoked much comment. The contrasting English stories are varied to provide examples of the pastoral, the tragic, comical, the outrageous, the sardonic and the grim. All have the same narrative briskness and distinctions both of style and theme.
