A bestselling collection of short stories from the author of The Stone Diaries (winner of the Pulitzer prize) and Larry’s Party (winner of the Orange prize)
All over town people are putting on their costumes; X slips into his wife’s lace-trimmed night gown and waltzes around his bedroom; Tamara is no longer the dull clerk receptionist when she wears that yellow skirt, she evolves into a stunning creature exuding passion and vitality. In ‘Weather’ a couple’s life is thrown into utter chaos when The National Association of Metereorologists go on strike – what will they wear? What will they eat? In ‘Soup du Jour’ a young boy contemplates life, the cracks in the pavement and his mother’s soup-making. Each story encapsulates the human spirit, its diversities, complexities and absurdities. Shields observes with compassion the carnival that goes on in each of our lives and the realities that we create for ourselves. Carol Shields’ second collection of short stories celebrates the extraordinary details that are found in ordinary, everyday lives.
"[Shields is] a witty, whimsical, playful writer...a devious literary chameleon...Each step along the route is a surprise, and each character is a memorable creation whose keys unlock more than anyone may suspect." The New York Times Book
"There are few writers currently at work who display such steely control of their material, such seemingly effortless range and variety." -- Guardian
"Shields is about the best we have, she does not just express what oft was thought; she snags the shadows of those thoughts, the thoughts we did not know we had. The effect – at once elating and visceral – feels like a conjurer pulling a handkerchief from your heart."-- Daily Telegraph (London)
"Her perceptions are so quick, her style is so acute, that she can tack a breath to the page and skewer a thought on the wing. It is her speciality to isolate moments that, because of some sensuous overkill they possess, remaining distinct in the mind for years, perhaps for a lifetime." Hilary Mantel, Sunday Times (London)
‘It is the breadth of Carol Shields’ human sympathy that marks her out as a special writer. That breadth is gloriously evident in “Dressing Up for the Carnival”. Whether she is playing the clown or offering poignant reflections on the fragility of happiness, Shields writes with a grace and lucidity that few of her contemporaries can match.’ --Sunday Telegraph (London)
Carol Shields (1935–2003) is the author of The Stone Diaries, which won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and Canada's Governor General's Award. Her other novels and short story collections include The Republic of Love, Happenstance, and Swann. Shields’s work has been translated into 33 languages.
View titles by Carol Shields
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Not available for sale:
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• Australia
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• Sierra Leone
• South Africa
• St. Lucia
• St. Vincent
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• Turks&Caicos Is
• United Kingdom
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe
Dressing Up for the CarnivalDressing Up for the Carnival A Scarf Weather Flatties: Their Various Forms and Uses Dying for Love Ilk Stop! Mirrors The Harp Our Men and Women Keys Absence Windows Reportage Edith-Esther New Music Soup du Jour Invention Death of an Artist The Next Best Kiss Eros Dressing Down
A bestselling collection of short stories from the author of The Stone Diaries (winner of the Pulitzer prize) and Larry’s Party (winner of the Orange prize)
All over town people are putting on their costumes; X slips into his wife’s lace-trimmed night gown and waltzes around his bedroom; Tamara is no longer the dull clerk receptionist when she wears that yellow skirt, she evolves into a stunning creature exuding passion and vitality. In ‘Weather’ a couple’s life is thrown into utter chaos when The National Association of Metereorologists go on strike – what will they wear? What will they eat? In ‘Soup du Jour’ a young boy contemplates life, the cracks in the pavement and his mother’s soup-making. Each story encapsulates the human spirit, its diversities, complexities and absurdities. Shields observes with compassion the carnival that goes on in each of our lives and the realities that we create for ourselves. Carol Shields’ second collection of short stories celebrates the extraordinary details that are found in ordinary, everyday lives.
Praise
"[Shields is] a witty, whimsical, playful writer...a devious literary chameleon...Each step along the route is a surprise, and each character is a memorable creation whose keys unlock more than anyone may suspect." The New York Times Book
"There are few writers currently at work who display such steely control of their material, such seemingly effortless range and variety." -- Guardian
"Shields is about the best we have, she does not just express what oft was thought; she snags the shadows of those thoughts, the thoughts we did not know we had. The effect – at once elating and visceral – feels like a conjurer pulling a handkerchief from your heart."-- Daily Telegraph (London)
"Her perceptions are so quick, her style is so acute, that she can tack a breath to the page and skewer a thought on the wing. It is her speciality to isolate moments that, because of some sensuous overkill they possess, remaining distinct in the mind for years, perhaps for a lifetime." Hilary Mantel, Sunday Times (London)
‘It is the breadth of Carol Shields’ human sympathy that marks her out as a special writer. That breadth is gloriously evident in “Dressing Up for the Carnival”. Whether she is playing the clown or offering poignant reflections on the fragility of happiness, Shields writes with a grace and lucidity that few of her contemporaries can match.’ --Sunday Telegraph (London)
Carol Shields (1935–2003) is the author of The Stone Diaries, which won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and Canada's Governor General's Award. Her other novels and short story collections include The Republic of Love, Happenstance, and Swann. Shields’s work has been translated into 33 languages.
View titles by Carol Shields
Rights
Available for sale exclusive:
• Guam
• Minor Outl.Ins.
• North Mariana
• Philippines
• Puerto Rico
• Samoa,American
• US Virgin Is.
• USA
Available for sale non-exclusive:
• Afghanistan
• Aland Islands
• Albania
• Algeria
• Andorra
• Angola
• Antarctica
• Argentina
• Armenia
• Aruba
• Austria
• Azerbaijan
• Bahrain
• Bangladesh
• Belarus
• Belgium
• Benin
• Bermuda
• Bhutan
• Bolivia
• Bonaire, Saba
• Bosnia Herzeg.
• Botswana
• Bouvet Island
• Brazil
• Brit.Ind.Oc.Ter
• Brunei
• Bulgaria
• Burkina Faso
• Burundi
• Cambodia
• Cape Verde
• Centr.Afr.Rep.
• Chad
• Chile
• China
• Christmas Islnd
• Cocos Islands
• Colombia
• Comoro Is.
• Congo
• Cook Islands
• Costa Rica
• Croatia
• Cuba
• Curacao
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Dem. Rep. Congo
• Denmark
• Djibouti
• Dominican Rep.
• Ecuador
• El Salvador
• Equatorial Gui.
• Eritrea
• Estonia
• Ethiopia
• Falkland Islnds
• Faroe Islands
• Finland
• France
• Fren.Polynesia
• French Guinea
• Gabon
• Gambia
• Georgia
• Germany
• Gibraltar
• Greece
• Greenland
• Guadeloupe
• Guatemala
• Guinea Republic
• Guinea-Bissau
• Haiti
• Heard/McDon.Isl
• Honduras
• Hong Kong
• Hungary
• Iceland
• India
• Indonesia
• Iran
• Israel
• Italy
• Ivory Coast
• Japan
• Kazakhstan
• Kiribati
• Kuwait
• Kyrgyzstan
• Laos
• Latvia
• Lebanon
• Lesotho
• Liberia
• Libya
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Macau
• Macedonia
• Madagascar
• Malawi
• Malaysia
• Maldives
• Mali
• Malta
• Marshall island
• Mauritania
• Mauritius
• Mayotte
• Mexico
• Micronesia
• Moldavia
• Monaco
• Mongolia
• Montenegro
• Morocco
• Mozambique
• Myanmar
• Nauru
• Nepal
• Netherlands
• New Caledonia
• Nicaragua
• Niger
• Niue
• Norfolk Island
• North Korea
• Norway
• Oman
• Pakistan
• Palau
• Palestinian Ter
• Panama
• PapuaNewGuinea
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Pitcairn Islnds
• Poland
• Portugal
• Qatar
• Reunion Island
• Romania
• Russian Fed.
• Rwanda
• S. Sandwich Ins
• Saint Martin
• San Marino
• SaoTome Princip
• Saudi Arabia
• Senegal
• Serbia
• Seychelles
• Singapore
• Sint Maarten
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Solomon Islands
• Somalia
• South Korea
• South Sudan
• Spain
• Sri Lanka
• St Barthelemy
• St. Helena
• St.Pier,Miquel.
• Sth Terr. Franc
• Sudan
• Suriname
• Svalbard
• Swaziland
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Syria
• Tadschikistan
• Taiwan
• Tanzania
• Thailand
• Timor-Leste
• Togo
• Tokelau Islands
• Tonga
• Tunisia
• Turkey
• Turkmenistan
• Tuvalu
• Uganda
• Ukraine
• Unit.Arab Emir.
• Uruguay
• Uzbekistan
• Vanuatu
• Vatican City
• Venezuela
• Vietnam
• Wallis,Futuna
• West Saharan
• Western Samoa
• Yemen
Not available for sale:
• Anguilla
• Antigua/Barbuda
• Australia
• Bahamas
• Barbados
• Belize
• Brit.Virgin Is.
• Cameroon
• Canada
• Cayman Islands
• Dominica
• Egypt
• Fiji
• Ghana
• Grenada
• Guernsey
• Guyana
• Iraq
• Ireland
• Isle of Man
• Jamaica
• Jersey
• Jordan
• Kenya
• Martinique
• Montserrat
• Namibia
• New Zealand
• Nigeria
• Sierra Leone
• South Africa
• St. Lucia
• St. Vincent
• St.Chr.,Nevis
• Trinidad,Tobago
• Turks&Caicos Is
• United Kingdom
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe
Table of Contents
Dressing Up for the CarnivalDressing Up for the Carnival A Scarf Weather Flatties: Their Various Forms and Uses Dying for Love Ilk Stop! Mirrors The Harp Our Men and Women Keys Absence Windows Reportage Edith-Esther New Music Soup du Jour Invention Death of an Artist The Next Best Kiss Eros Dressing Down
