The Devil's Larder

Jim Crace

Jim Crace is one of my favourite writers at the moment. I love the inventiveness of his stories. And nowhere is this more evident than in this delightful collection of short stories with a central theme of food. He creates stories from such unexpected angles and he writes with such lyrical skill that sometimes the stories seem like poetry. Here is a sample that probably works much, much better in the context of the story but it is beautiful on its own too:

I walk across to taste the fruit of that one crab [apple tree] for myself. I never swallow any of the flesh, of course. I simply plunge my teeth into the tempting bitterness. Even after all these years - misled, misled, misled again - I like to test the flavours of deceit. And I still find myself surprised by its malicious impact in my mouth. It's bitter-sweet and treacherous, the kiss of lovers from opposing villages.

This is a wonderful collection, filled with original ideas backed up by talented writing. Savour it.