Chris Power – författare

SHORTLISTED FOR THE EDGE HILL SHORT STORY PRIZE 2019LONGLISTED FOR THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE 2019Mothers is peopled by men and women who find themselves at crossroads or dead ends - characters who search without knowing what they seek. From remote and wild Exmoor to ancient Swedish burial sites and hedonistic Mexican weddings, these stories lay bare the emotional and psychic damage of life and love in a stunning debut collection.

'To read Mothers is to take a journey through a landscape familiar enough to console, yet strange enough to unsettle. The thrills and dangers of such a journey lie with the unexpectedness of life's undercurrents and our uncertain, unknowable selves. Chris Power's quiet yet compelling touch is reminiscent of Alice Munro and Peter Stamm.'- Yiyun Li, author of A Thousand Years of Good Prayers and The VagrantsChris Power's stories are peopled by men and women who find themselves at crossroads or dead ends - at ancient Swedish burial sites, river crossings on Exmoor, and raucous Mexican weddings. A stand-up with writer's block embarks upon his last gig as a Rodney Dangerfield impersonator. Reflecting on a childhood holiday, a father is faced with the limit to which he can keep his daughters safe. These characters search without knowing what they seek.At the heart of this work is Eva, whom we meet in childhood, locked in an enigmatic relationship with her mother; as a woman stumbling from youth into middle age; and in later life as the mother to a daughter of her own. Each story lays bare the emotional and psychic damage of life, love and abandonment.

A New Statesman Book of the Year 2021A Metro Book of the Year 2021A Washington Post '10 Best Thriller and Mystery Books of 2021''A taut, subtle, postmodern literary thriller.' SUNDAY TIMES'A remarkable debut; an accomplished and intricately plotted story.'-JON McGREGOR'A Lonely Man is a delicate snare of a novel.'-BRANDON TAYLOR'A thrilling, unnerving novel. a page-turner with exacting syntax and emotional heft.'-CATHERINE LACEY'Impressively deft. A Lonely Man is a tense and taut work.'-BENJAMIN MYERS'A classy page-turner.' MAIL ON SUNDAYRobert is a struggling writer living in Berlin with his wife and two young daughters. One night he meets Patrick, an enigmatic stranger with a sensational story to tell: a ghostwriter for a Russian oligarch - recently found hanged - who is now being followed. But is he really in danger? Patrick's life strikes Robert as a fabrication, but one that comes to obsess him. He decides to use the other man, and his story.An elegant and atmospheric twist on the cat-and-mouse narrative, A Lonely Man is a novel of shadows, of the search for identity and the elastic nature of truth. As his association with Patrick hurtles towards tragedy, Robert must decide: are actual events the only things that give a story life, and are some stories too dangerous to tell?

A New Statesman Book of the Year 2021A Metro Book of the Year 2021A Washington Post '10 Best Thriller and Mystery Books of 2021''Gripping.' FINANCIAL TIMES'A classy page-turner.' MAIL ON SUNDAY'A taut, subtle, postmodern literary thriller.' SUNDAY TIMESWhen two men meet in a bookshop in Berlin they begin an uneasy friendship. Patrick has a sensational story to tell: a ghostwriter for a Russian oligarch recently found hanged, he says the people who killed his boss are now following him...A twist on the cat-and-mouse narrative, A Lonely Man is about the search for identity and the elastic nature of truth. As the two men's association hurtles towards tragedy, Robert is forced to confront whether actual events are the only things that give a story life, and if some stories are too dangerous to tell.'A remarkable debut; an accomplished and intricately plotted story.'-JON McGREGOR'A Lonely Man is a delicate snare of a novel.'-BRANDON TAYLOR'A thrilling, unnerving novel. a page-turner with exacting syntax and emotional heft.'-CATHERINE LACEY

A New Statesman Book of the Year 2021A Metro Book of the Year 2021A Washington Post '10 Best Thriller and Mystery Books of 2021''Gripping.' FINANCIAL TIMES'A classy page-turner.' MAIL ON SUNDAY'A taut, subtle, postmodern literary thriller.' SUNDAY TIMESWhen two men meet in a bookshop in Berlin they begin an uneasy friendship. Patrick has a sensational story to tell: a ghostwriter for a Russian oligarch recently found hanged, he says the people who killed his boss are now following him...A twist on the cat-and-mouse narrative, A Lonely Man is about the search for identity and the elastic nature of truth. As the two men's association hurtles towards tragedy, Robert is forced to confront whether actual events are the only things that give a story life, and if some stories are too dangerous to tell.'A remarkable debut; an accomplished and intricately plotted story.'-JON McGREGOR'A Lonely Man is a delicate snare of a novel.'-BRANDON TAYLOR'A thrilling, unnerving novel. a page-turner with exacting syntax and emotional heft.'-CATHERINE LACEY

Andrew Donelan did everything right. He attended the right schools, married the right woman, had a satisfying career and a happy family. So nothing could have prepared him when he woke up one June morning to a hollowed-out world. Instead of his comfortable Manhattan existence he found a world stripped of meaning, color, and interest. In the mirror he saw not a man with hopes and dreams, but a thing among things. Looking inward, he saw nothing at all-no purpose, no goals, and no idea what to do next. By a chance encounter with a radical Czech psychologist he is sent on a mission to restore his sense of purpose. He must descend into the underworld of myth, dreams, and the unconscious to discover the hidden sources of human meaning. He must face harrowing spiritual trials and a terrifying encounter with Death before his life's purpose is restored. The Calling is philosophical novel that asks: is the sense of purpose an illusion that can vanish at any moment? And if it does, can we live with he truth that appears in its place? Can our natural sense of purpose be restored, or must it be deliberately and strenuously reconstructed? To answer these questions, The Calling frames a midlife crisis as a spiritual catastrophe with life or death consequences.

Seven of the best recent short stories, disassembled by their authors.An innovative anthology revealing the inspiration, the ideals and the work involved in a great short story. Reverse Engineering brings together contemporary classic stories with their authors'' discussions of how they were written.

»Gewichtig wunderschöne Erzählungen.« Daily MailEin heruntergekommener Comedian verdient sein Geld damit, auf Junggesellenabschieden die besten Nummern eines anderen Comedians nachzuspielen, er weiß, dass er längst zu einer Karikatur dessen geworden ist, was er mal sein wollte. Der Moment, in dem er für sich einen Ausweg aus diesem Leben sieht, ist zugleich auch der Moment, in dem äußerlich alles zusammenbricht. Auf einer Wanderung durch britisches Hügelland stellt ein frischverliebtes Paar fest, dass sie einander nicht genug mögen, um sich besser kennenlernen zu wollen. Eine Tochter kommt ihrer Mutter, die längst aus ihrem Leben verschwunden ist, nirgendwo so nahe wie in einem zerfledderten Reiseführer von Europa.Die Geschichten von Chris Power sind bevölkert von Männern und Frauen, denen es unmöglich zu sein scheint, eine wirkliche Verbindung zu anderen aufzunehmen, am wenigsten vielleicht zu sich selbst. In seinen Erzählungen zeigt sich die überragende Fähigkeit des Autors, mit minimalem Einsatz der literarischen Mittel Figuren in großer Komplexität und Tiefe zu erschaffen.»Die zehn Geschichten dieses außerordentlichen Debüts handeln von kurzen Momenten, die durch ein ganzes Leben widerhallen... am Schluss angekommen war ich den Tränen nahe und wollte gleich wieder von vorne anfangen.« Sunday Times»Ein einzigartig aufregendes und raffiniertes Debüt.« The Guardian