Smoke and Other Tales

2015 | Biography

Foreword by Will Self.





Smoke and Other Tales is writer Gerry King’s follow-up to the critically acclaimed debut short story collection Lubin Tales. This beautifully illustrated book presents a rich cast of characters and scenarios. King concisely captures the smug and facile, redolent of a culture not giving but taking. Spectacularly dark and dysfunctional individuals are sharply observed in settings as diverse as hipster-heavy East London and decaying South Coast holiday resorts. A host of characters include the deliciously deviant Stealerant with his collection of snide and compelling connections and the continuing relentless romantic turmoil of Clive the Poodle Faker who inhabits an almost Wes Andersonesque reality. King’s lyrical prose is often poignant and hilarious in equal measure. An example of the range of emotion is evident in the story ‘...and in the End’, the final days of Paul the Boxer aka ‘The Torquay Tornado’. There is something for everyone here, a dip in and out book with the option of total immersion. Gerry King is considered to be an important writer and this new collection is his best yet.

Gerry King (Author)