States of Man
Published on 30. September 2019
Book
Hardback
180 pages
978-1-9161011-9-7 (ISBN)
Description
Tender, nostalgic, romantic, funny, absurd, magically real, speculative, ironic, nightmarish, entertaining and elegantly rendered...these stories span a century of Man's consciousness.
Once, a man might be a Gatsby chasing his girl half-way around the world, the captain of a football World Cup winning side, a raging Picasso bull in a mythical maze refusing to yield lover or art till his last mortality-defiant egotistic gasp. Straightforward enough choices, dreams, behaviour.
Suddenly he is man interrupted, underwhelmed, overworked, ridiculed, young, rock-solid or unreliable family man, father, husband, friend; his freedom evaporates: he's globe-trotting inbox-fatigued nonsense-hearing corporate, military civil-serving quiet ministry of Everyman. He's so exasperated he might just run away and prop up a bar, or contemplate mild treachery just to get by, and he's put-upon, as he zigzags across #TimesUp, political correctness, game theory, oh... and... the women in his life.
Now here he stands staring down the barrel of the 21st Century - he's superman, he's transhuman, he's disassembling, he's nearly done for
...or is he?
Once, a man might be a Gatsby chasing his girl half-way around the world, the captain of a football World Cup winning side, a raging Picasso bull in a mythical maze refusing to yield lover or art till his last mortality-defiant egotistic gasp. Straightforward enough choices, dreams, behaviour.
Suddenly he is man interrupted, underwhelmed, overworked, ridiculed, young, rock-solid or unreliable family man, father, husband, friend; his freedom evaporates: he's globe-trotting inbox-fatigued nonsense-hearing corporate, military civil-serving quiet ministry of Everyman. He's so exasperated he might just run away and prop up a bar, or contemplate mild treachery just to get by, and he's put-upon, as he zigzags across #TimesUp, political correctness, game theory, oh... and... the women in his life.
Now here he stands staring down the barrel of the 21st Century - he's superman, he's transhuman, he's disassembling, he's nearly done for
...or is he?
Reviews / Votes
'These subtle and assured stories encapsulate a view of life at once bleak and realistic, yet enlivened by nuance, irony and quiet humour.' Vernon Bogdanor, Professor of Government, King's College, LondonMore details
Edition
Hardback ed.
Language
English
Place of publication
Bridport
United Kingdom
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 209 mm
Width: 132 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
304 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-9161011-9-7 (9781916101197)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Gareth Cadwallader's first novel, Watkins & Co. is published by Wet Zebra in 2016. His play, Cleopatra, has been performed at the Kings Head and Hope theatres in Islington. Madame Manet and Blood-Crossed have been performed at the Tabard in Chiswick. His story The Fall first features in the anthology If This Then That, published by WriteSideLeft. When off the field of combat, he works with entrepreneurs in London helping them grow their businesses.
Content
Prologue: The Rise and Fall of John Holms
The Fall 1984
Probable Assault
The Real Thing
Rainfall
Closing the Gap
The Abuser
The Fall
Christmas Cards
The Minotaur's Apprentice
Epilogue: The LOOP
The Fall 1984
Probable Assault
The Real Thing
Rainfall
Closing the Gap
The Abuser
The Fall
Christmas Cards
The Minotaur's Apprentice
Epilogue: The LOOP