Fascination

From 19th century Russia to Second World War Los Angeles to modern-day Eastbourne, this title presents sixteen masterpieces of short fiction.

Fascination is master storyteller William Boyd's third volume of short stories

Described as "the finest storyteller of his generation", and following his acclaimed collections On the Yankee Station and The Destiny of Nathalie X, in Fascination Boyd shows his brilliance of the form as these stories range widely through time and space. In a dazzling array of styles and narratives we move from 1930s Germany to Los Angeles in the Second World War, from contemporary Oxford to 19th century Russia. Whether in London or Amsterdam. Eastbourne or a Normandy village these stories explore and expose the fraught, funny, absurd, poignant and lovelorn lives of their many and varied characters.

Fascination will be loved by fans of Any Human Heart, as well as readers of William Trevor, Sebastian Faulks, Nick Hornby and Hilary Mantel.

'The stories here are perfect . . . suffused with an understanding of love, desire and emotional incompetence' Guardian

'Perfectly formed snapshots of life at its most mystifying' Daily Mail

'Consistently entertaining' Literary Review

'Boyd achieves his best writing, observing tiny moments of love, lust and epiphany with extraordinary sensitivity' Spectator