Book review: The Fat Artist And Other Stories

These stories are fascinating tales that cover a huge range of characters, who will linger in your mind long after you’ve put down the book.

Benjamin Hale

Picador, £12.99;

ebook, £11.48

BENJAMIN HALE is back following a successful debut, The Evolution Of Bruno Littlemore — a book that told the story of a chimpanzee who learns to speak English and develops a romantic relationship with a woman.

This time, Hale has written a selection of short stories, but the surreal element that featured in his first novel remains a key theme.

From an artist who nearly eats himself to death (The Fat Artist) to the woman who accidentally feeds her baby hallucinogenics during a flight, these are stories about people amid, or on the brink of, panic.

They’re stories that start with the mundane and end in a very real sense of fear, whether they’re on the run or on the cusp of the Aids crisis.

Despite being a slightly unsettling collection of stories, they’re fascinating tales that cover a huge range of characters, who will linger in your mind long after you’ve put down the book.