Fairy tales, myths, and history are organically woven into the intricate plots of this collection’s stories by the Whitbread Prize laureate Mark Haddon, author of “The Curious Incident of the Dog at Night.” Loneliness and being cut off from the world cause painful experiences. And even when fragile, delicate connections arise between the most unlike people—connections that seem to promise a glimpse of hope—something makes those bonds tear apart. And most often it ends in catastrophe.
In “The Revolver,” a man’s life changes completely after an incident involving a gun. In “The Island,” a princess in the midst of war ends up on a remote island.
Attention: the book contains profanity.