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Going the Distance
With some of the best writing in the short story form the UK has to offer, this anthology is a real Gemma Blackshaw's spot-on portrait of an Essex girl on the verge of losing her virginity; Alan Beard cuts to the quick with a painfully honest study of growing regret and acceptance after a marriage break-up through infidelity; Joel Lane's beautiful, poetical allegory about a man's relationship with alcohol; to Godfrey Featherstone's heartbreaking tale of an illiterate Birmingham couple, told in the form of a letter from a prison cell. Going the Distance is always powerful, original, perfectly understated, each voice strong and enticing.""-Laura Hird
267 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2003
1 person is currently reading
6 people want to read
About the author
Alan Beard
15 books193 followersAlan Beard is a short story writer with three collections 'Taking Doreen out of the Sky' (Picador 1999, also on Kindle), ‘You Don't Have to Say' (Tindal Street Press, 2010) and ‘Afternoon Drinking’ (Floodgate Press 2025). He won the Tom-Gallon award and was longlisted for the Edge Hill prize; stories in 'Best Short Stories 1991', twice in Best British Short Stories 2011 & 2024 (Salt), Best Microfiction 2024 and many places including 'Critical Quarterly', 'Malahat Review', 'London Magazine', 'Telling Stories 3' and on BBC Radio 4.
'Short cuts full of heart and beauty...It's rare to find characters like these realistically portrayed in a humane and intelligent way, and it's not easy giving a voice to the inarticulate. Alan Beard succeeds.'
The Independent.
'Beard's stories avoid cartoon terrors and verbal trickery, and instead rely for their effects on honest observation and sharp declarative sentences.. he achieves a startling poignancy'.
Times Literary Supplement.
'Rich in detail and implication.. this is a truly fine collection.'
The Times (of 'Taking Doreen out of the Sky').
'...incisive, haunting stories ...a writer who does amazing things with the fewest possible words.'
The Times (of 'You Don't Have to Say').
'Luminous and [has] a terse immediacy...Beard has an artist's eye and an original turn of phrase'.
Sunday Times.
'Beard is a true master of the form. He is a brilliant story teller, capable of wrenching beauty from the unlikeliest of circumstances... This is an excellent collection; an observational masterpiece.'
The Short Review
Please note there is more than one Alan Beard on this site. 'Historical Tweets' is not my book even though it keeps appearing on the list below.
'Short cuts full of heart and beauty...It's rare to find characters like these realistically portrayed in a humane and intelligent way, and it's not easy giving a voice to the inarticulate. Alan Beard succeeds.'
The Independent.
'Beard's stories avoid cartoon terrors and verbal trickery, and instead rely for their effects on honest observation and sharp declarative sentences.. he achieves a startling poignancy'.
Times Literary Supplement.
'Rich in detail and implication.. this is a truly fine collection.'
The Times (of 'Taking Doreen out of the Sky').
'...incisive, haunting stories ...a writer who does amazing things with the fewest possible words.'
The Times (of 'You Don't Have to Say').
'Luminous and [has] a terse immediacy...Beard has an artist's eye and an original turn of phrase'.
Sunday Times.
'Beard is a true master of the form. He is a brilliant story teller, capable of wrenching beauty from the unlikeliest of circumstances... This is an excellent collection; an observational masterpiece.'
The Short Review
Please note there is more than one Alan Beard on this site. 'Historical Tweets' is not my book even though it keeps appearing on the list below.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 4, 2012
don't normally star rate books where I'm the author or editor (as here), but I think it deserves more than the one star it's got. So there!
April 18, 2011
First two stories were awful so gave up
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews