Home » Books » Someone Else’s Gods
- Published February 2022
- Publisher SilverWood Books
- ISBN 9781800421455
- Paperback 198 x 129mm (168 pages)
- RRP $14.88
- eBook $8.14
In sixteen diverse and entertaining stories, Gordon R Clarke takes us on a journey from the struggle of ancient rebels to the aromas of an unexpected future, delivering the flavours of five continents, spiced with both comedy and philosophy.
He leads us through the terrors of madness to the peace of the Thai countryside by way of an indiscreet Christmas letter from Spain, a funeral in North Carolina, a pizza incident in Singapore, an altercation in Crete, and a mysterious evening in Budapest. Gordon uses his wide experience of working and living in many different societies to draw the reader into the extraordinary world that exists within the bounds of our common human psychology.
Throughout, the question of what is real and what we can never know haunts the collection, reminding us not only of the impermanence of all things but also the joy of human connection.
Reviews of Someone Else’s Gods
In Someone Else’s Gods, Gordon Clarke offers us stories with exceptional appeal and variety. He carries us into speculations on the future or the nature of reality with superb verbal economy, a deliciously sharp sense of irony, the witty exposure of human foibles, and a continuous emphasis on perceptions and misperceptions. It is a delightful collection, to be enjoyed and savoured.
Timothy Unwin, Emeritus Professor of French, University of Bristol, and former General Editor of the journal French Studies.
One of the strengths of Gordon Clarke’s collection of short stories is the great variety of styles and genres in which he is able to write: from the simple twist (or twists) in the tale, to travelogue reflections, to an analysis of relationships, to a comedy sketch, to science fiction, to a subtle critique of today’s society as archaeologists reconstruct the ethos and beliefs of an earlier fictional (or is it?) civilisation, to a beautifully over-the-top parody of the ubiquitous Christmas letter. We are in turn amused, entertained, challenged, disturbed, fooled and informed, and I unhesitatingly commend Someone Else’s Gods.
RNF Skinner - author of the novel Still Crazy... and (as Richard Skinner) poet and performer
Gordon Clarke leads us through a series of stories and vignettes that are beautifully crafted, compelling to read, and infused with a sense of the unknowable beyond the surface of things. In the end it is the fullness of life itself that triumphs.
Lord Chris Smith, Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge
