THIS WAY TO DEPARTURES: STORIES

Linda Mannheim (Influx)

This story collection confronts the bleak realities of our urban milieu by stripping the world of its glossy veneer. Mannheim’s stories concern the desperate search for and loss of one’s home, highlighting the complexities of living in a shifting world where home is rarely permanent. Included within are stories of migrants from the Salvadoran civil war, a New York punk dreaming of London, and the devastating ruination of a student’s rose-tinted college life. While often cynical, these stories exude an air of warm compassion. They weave language, time, and place together with ease, in a compact form that is always readable. Home emerges through specific locations, other people, and particular moments in time. Sometimes, it’s the ceaseless desire for somewhere better – a ‘grass is greener’ fantasy that all too often crumbles. 

Price: £9.99. Info: www.influxpress.com (GK)