Let Sleeping Bodies Lie by Anthony English

 

The word ‘collection’ isn’t right here. This is, rather, a treasure trove of short stories. Within the first few lines of each one I was into the atmosphere of the story, in the same way as I remember, from a long time ago, being captivated by John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row books. 

I don’t quite know how to describe the stories without any spoilers. Picture if you will, and if you are old enough, a youngish Trevor Howard slowly going troppo after being banished for inappropriate behaviour from a very nice post in the dying days of the British Colonial Service in Tanganyka (now Tanzania) to a position as district officer in a hot, steamy, storm ravaged outer island in the Pacific Ocean. That is a tiny peek at the first story. 

The rest of the stories feature men living and working in and adapting to different cultures. They range from Surabaya to Bali, from Papua New Guinea to Sydney to Japan. The Sydney story, while not featuring a man living in a foreign country, nevertheless is of a man caught in the midst of an alien culture. That story will have an impact on readers with its brave and quite neat solution to an abhorrent problem.

I can’t recommend this book highly enough. Anthony English is a master story teller and obviously uses his lived experiences as the basis for his marvellous stories.

I humbly offer my 5 star rating.

Published by Kindle for Valla House.