THE TURNING POINT  – A short story by Penny Nair Price The newsagent opened his door at 7 am and waited for his favourite and most reliable customer, serving one or two others before his arrival.  At 7.45, or as near as dammit, the white stick poked round the door and Frederick Orange entered, with his familiar expression of a mixture of pleasure and distaste playing round his mouth, as he tapped his way to the counter and bought his lucky dip ticket for the Friday draw, and a pack of his favourite cigarettes, together with some extra strong mints. The newsagent … Continue reading Alone and betrayed

Mathias Énard’s first novel, revolves around an unnamed city completely torn apart by civil war, a teenage sniper has only one goal: to fire the perfect shot. He sublimates himself into his weapon, controls his breath, stays serenely calm, and listen to his body and the beat of his heart. Lying in wait on rooftops, he shoots at civilians amid the movement of seagulls in the dawn sky.  At dawn he finds that the light is perfect- not too blinding, no reflections- and people are less careful. In one scene, he is soothed by the sight of a woman falling “like … Continue reading Psyche of a teenage sniper

Magical tale of climate catastrophe – a pure dust storm  is the new novel from the Pulitzer Prize shortlisted author Karen Russell, in The Antidote where the moving dust looks like a mountain range, or an avalanche on Black Sunday, April 1935, in the central plains of the US. Mid-afternoon, the temperature dropped; birds chattered, horizon turned black to flatten wheatfields, burying houses  and vaporising every memory stored inside the Antidote. She wakes up empty- as bankrupt as America. If her customers ever discover the truth, her life will be in danger. “The onrushing cloud, the darkness, and the thick, choking dirt, made this … Continue reading Avalanche on Black Sunday