by Ali Smith
First published 1995
A collection of short stories that slice through the veneer of conventional relationships, revealing the raw electricity of human connection. Smith's narratives track moments where love breaks free from expected boundaries—where strangers collide, intimacies spark unexpectedly, and personal histories intertwine with startling immediacy. Each story peels back social conventions to expose the tender, unpredictable mechanisms of desire. Characters find themselves suspended in charged interactions: a chance encounter, a misunderstood gesture, a fleeting recognition that transforms everything. The stories pulse with a restless energy, moving between humor and acute emotional precision. Relationships are never simple, never linear—they are living, breathing ecosystems of vulnerability and surprise.
Genres: fiction, short-stories, contemporary, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: unexpected-intimacy, vulnerability
Period: 21st-century
160 pages · Kindle Edition · Virago