Review: Speaking with the Angel

"What I reckon is: everyone's a loony. However normal anyone seems, deep down inside they're actually mental, every single person in the world and the whole of your life you have to learn not to seem mental to other people, who are all mental, too." - Colin Firth

A short story collection edited by Nick Hornby (High Fidelity, About a Boy) featuring a number of noted (mostly British) authors. All of the work here is worth reading, and it jumps around a great deal in style and theme, so just about any taste should be satisfied. Best: Colin Firth's The Department of Nothing, about a boy dealing with the death of his grandmother. Last Requests, by Giles Smith, explores the emotional challenges in being the person who cooks the last meal for death row inmates. Decent: Hornby's NippleJesus follows a guard through a few days standing watch over a controversial work of art. The Slave, by Roddy Doyle, centers around a middle-aged man trying to keep up with age and the changes in his life.

Speaking with the Angel, edited by Nick Hornby (2000). Overall Rating (using the poker hand scale): straight.

Part of the proceeds from the book were donated to autism schools in New York and London.