Publisher's Synopsis
Nicholas Haggerâs Collected Stories covered five volumes containing 1,001 very short stories detailing five decades (from the 1960s to the 2000s) in the life of Philip Rawley, whose demise was misleadingly announced at the end of the fifth volume. This sixth volume contains 201 stories and deals with the chill of winter, impending old age. These mini-stores present a wide range of characters, and their follies and flaws. They offer a complete literary experience in a page or two, and their combination of opposites derives its inspiration from the 17th century: Dr Johnsonâs description in his âLife of Cowleyâ of the wit of the Metaphysical poets as âa combination of dissimilar imagesâ in which âthe most heterogeneous ideas are yoked by violence togetherâ. They are verbal paintings that present an image in action and reveal a poetâs eye for significant detail. Haggerâs stories are innovatory in their brevity. They are imagistic, economical and vivid, and cumulatively reflect the Age. They are ideal for short concentration spans: reading on journeys or in bed. Individual stories drop into the consciousness like a stone into a well, leaving the mind to reflect on the ripples. These imaginative stories in clean prose make excellent reading and contain memorable images and studies of character.