#amreading Merciless Gods
Author: Christos Tsiolkas
Discovered: I've been a Tsiolkas fan since The Slap
Where read: (in part) The wonderful Kioskafe in Paddington
What's the story?
Merciless Gods is a hard hitting collection of short stories from Christos Tsiolkas which comes off the back of recent critically successful novels The Slap and Barracuda. The stories shock from the off with pretty brutal portrayals of people dealing with family, betrayal and sacrifice.
The Word's Shortlist view:
I've read a number of cracking short story collections recently; Stuart Evers Your Father Sends His Love and Stay Up With Me by Tom Barbash spring to mind immediately. For me the format is perfect for reading on the go. Short, sharp bursts of engaging narrative can temporarily change your journey, your day and when in the hands of a great writer you entire week.
Christos Tsiolkas is well known for his no holds barred, explicit and raw writing style and this collection of short stories doesn't disappoint. Tsiolkas always write from a place he implicitly understands; gay, Australian, from immigrant parents, yet his ability to speak with different voices is remarkable.
The collection begins with a story about old friends getting together at a dinner party to discuss revenge stories. Like Tsiolkas' classic The Slap the story turns on a single action which shatters the middle class pretension of the dinner party. Other stories are set in less familiar territory; The T-Shirt With The Fist On It for example is a story about tourists in the Middle East and Porn 1 deals with a mother accepting her son's career as adult film star.
Explicit, sexually frank, indiscreet but always honest. Tsiolkas is a one man genre of contemporary Australian fiction.
Christos Tsiolkas is well known for his no holds barred, explicit and raw writing style and this collection of short stories doesn't disappoint. Tsiolkas always write from a place he implicitly understands; gay, Australian, from immigrant parents, yet his ability to speak with different voices is remarkable.
The collection begins with a story about old friends getting together at a dinner party to discuss revenge stories. Like Tsiolkas' classic The Slap the story turns on a single action which shatters the middle class pretension of the dinner party. Other stories are set in less familiar territory; The T-Shirt With The Fist On It for example is a story about tourists in the Middle East and Porn 1 deals with a mother accepting her son's career as adult film star.
Explicit, sexually frank, indiscreet but always honest. Tsiolkas is a one man genre of contemporary Australian fiction.
What’s next on the bookshelf
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