from: Riverhead Trade
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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.0108
EAN num: 9781573228589
ISBN number: 1573228583
Label: Riverhead Trade
Manufacturer: Riverhead Trade
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 256
Printing Date: February 01, 2001
Publishing house: Riverhead Trade
Release Date: February 06, 2001
Sale Popularity Level: 52704
Studio: Riverhead Trade
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Speaking with the Angel:
12 completely new stories, narrated by 12 completely fabulous characters, written by 12 of the most celebrated voices in fiction today. Bestselling author Nick Hornby has brought together a star-studded group of writers to create this one-of-a-kind collection of first-person narratives.
From the imaginations of Dave Eggers, Zadie Smith, Irvine Welsh, Helen Fielding, Roddy Doyle, Melissa Bank, and others, including Nick Hornby himself, have sprung eleven enthralling, unforgettable talking heads. Clever, outragious, witty, edgy, tender, wicked....This is what is meant by 'original.'
Amazon.com Review:
There are lots of reasons to buy Speaking with the Angel, an anthology of first-person narratives by bright, young, mostly British literati: these are smart and original stories, none of them previously published elsewhere. What's more, it's for a good cause. Nick Hornby, editor of the collection and author of one of the pieces, has an autistic son, and in a raw and wrenching introduction he stresses the importance of educational institutions to serve such children, who 'have no language, and no particular compulsion to acquire it, who are born without the need to explore the world.' Accordingly, a portion of each sale benefits autism charities around the world.
Still, this is a collection that stands on its own merits, and requires no act of charity to purchase. In Roddy Doyle's 'The Slave,' for example, a 42-year-old family man discovers a dead rat on his kitchen floor, and this unwelcome incursion from the natural world plunges him into a midlife crisis. In 'Last Requests,' Giles Smith introduces us to a prison cook who specializes in, well, last suppers. It's both hilarious and shocking to encounter this egomaniacal chef on the job: They can have what they like, within reason, up to a maximum of three courses, with coffee or tea and a piece of confectionary or a biscuit if they want it. No alcohol, for obvious reasons. Obviously, you'll get the jokers, like the one who said he wanted a whole roast pig with an apple in its mouth. Or the governor's head, one of them said he wanted.
Elsewhere, in Hornby's own 'NippleJesus,' a skinhead bouncer becomes a museum guard and falls for the painting he's charged to protect, a crucifixion collage made up of thousands of tiny breasts cut out of porn magazines. The stories in Speaking with the Angel all feel up to the minute, abounding with references to politics and popular culture. Yet the obscenity and slang ultimately amount to a form of bluster, an acknowledgement of the intrinsic fragility that all 12 of these narrators share. --Victoria Jenkins
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Rated by buyers 
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Quite simply, I've never enjoyed a book of short stories more than this one. Reading it made a train trip through Europe even more perfect than it already was, and because of it I discovered Dave Eggers...
Rated by buyers -
Speaking with the Angel is an anthology for a cause. Nick Hornby's son is autistic, so he put together the best writers he knows to put stories into an book for Treehouse, a unique school in London. It's a good cause, but I didn't know if that would translate to a good book. I needn't have worried, the writers met the challenge and produced a great theme-free collection.
Nick Hornby brings the most memorable of the stories with NippleJesus. It's a tale of a controversial work of art and the man who guards it. He's moved by the piece and grows attached, changing from being revolted to becoming an art defender.
Helen Fielding's story, LuckyBitch gets into the mind of an old lady reliving her risque past. It's an unexpected treat and encourages me to pick up a Fielding book and see if it's good.
Other great stories include:
PMQ by Robert Harris, a tale of what happens when Britain's Prime Minister goes out of pocket without his security.
After I was Thrown in the River and Before I Drowned by Dave Eggers tells the story of racing through the woods from a dog's point of view. Things aren't always what they seem.
The Table of Contents:
* "PMQ" by Robert Harris
* "The Wonder Spot" by Melissa Bank
* "Last Requests" by Giles Smith
* "Peter Shelley" by Patrick Marber
* "The Department of Nothing" by Colin Firth
* "I'm the Only One" by Zadie Smith
* "NippleJesus" by Nick Hornby
* "LuckyBitch" by Helen Fielding
* "The Slave" by Roddy Doyle
* "Catholic Guilt" by Irvine Welsh
* "After I Was Thrown in the River and Before I Drowned" by Dave Eggers
* "Walking into the Wind" by John O'Farrell
Rated by buyers -
Quite frankly, I liked some stories and didn't quite enjoy some of the others, but I still think this is a book worth reading, especially because the purpose for its creation is aimed to help autistic children. I was very touched by Nick Hornby's introduction. A must-buy.
Rated by buyers -
I think Nick Hornby is the coolest writer in the World today. This compilation was a way for me to find out other writers who are as cool as Nick. I wasn't disappointed. Here is my review of the short stories:
PMQ: Wonderful comedy piece about a Prime Minister's wild night out.
The Wonder Spot: Kind of too "New York Hipster" for me, but still a nice read.
Last Request: Great story. Mix of a serious topic with a light point of view.
Peter Shelley: Funny story about a boy losing his virginity. My favorite story in the book.
The Department of Nothing: Not bad, but a bit too sentimental for the tone of the book. This was my least favorite story. I wouldn't say Colin Firth should keep his day job, but hey, his day job is awesome.
I'm the Only One: Very short and a bit unsatisfying story about a kid's getting a visit from a super-tall friend. I still liked it.
NippleJesus: My second favorite story. A blue-collar man (a bodyguard) who admires an artsy-fartsy museum piece. Really funny.
After I was Thrown in The River...: I particularly didn't care much for this dog. My second least favorite.
LuckyBitch and The Slave: Both are about middle aged people. One seen from a woman's point of view and other from a man's. Both are equally a riot.
Catholic Guilt: My third favorite story, and being from Irvine Welsh, is also the edgiest. A homophobic hooligan gets his afterlife punishment. Simply hilarious.
Walking into the Wind: Just when I thought I couldn't laugh any harder comes this story about a mime to finish it off.
Rated by buyers -
With "High Fidelity" and "About a Boy" as two of my favorite books, it was Hornby's name that drew me to this anthology, though the other contributing authors are certainly not unrecognized.
I enjoyed each of this book's twelve stories, but a few in particular stood out. Hornby's "Nipple Jesus" was my favorite. In it, a security guard charged with protecting a controversial work of art - a beautiful depiction of the crucifiction that, upon close inspection, is seen to be composed of a collage of pornographic photos - wrestles with questions of whether or not the piece is really art and whether or not he really wants to guard it. The story forced me to examine similar questions as to what I felt constituted art. I was left thinking that it would have made a great bit of reading for a Philosophy of Art class.
Other memorable stories were "Last Requests" by Giles Smith, in which a prison cook ruminates upon preparing last meals for death row inmates; "The Slave" by Roddy Doyle, in which a man tries to slowly ween himself from paranoia after nearly stepping on the carcass of a giant rat in front of his refrigerator; and "Catholic Guilt" by Irvine Welsh, where a man gets his just deserves for beating a homosexual. Each of these stories went beyond merely providing entertainment, and led me to think as well.
Oddly enough, the least enjoyable stories were the very first and the last in the collection - "PMQ" from Robbert Harris and "Walking into the Wind" from John O'Farrell. It's not that these two were poor entries - they were both solidly readable - they just didn't seem to have the zing of the other selections.
But with that small detraction as my biggest complaint, I have no hesitation in recommending "Speaking With the Angel." It's perfect for digesting in 20-minute doses, providing a dozen opportunities to, at least, briefly escape and, at best, to make you think.
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