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Notting Hill Editions

Ways of Telling

Ways of Telling

by Xandra Bingley, introduction by Margaret Atwood

$18.95
$18.95
Available as E-Book British & Irish Literature Essays & Criticism
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From the author of the UK bestseller Bertie, May and Mrs Fish comes an unforgettable exploration of memory, loss, and human connection, with an introduction by Margaret Atwood.

In this collection of vivid portraits of the everyday, including Princess Diana's funeral, a 1960s James Brown concert, a bus ride through Wales, a hospital stay, and much more, Xandra Bingley reveals the fleeting transience of human life.

"Ways of Telling isn't like any other book. Is it social reportage, the eye at the keyhole, the ear at the door? It is its own thing."—Margaret Atwood

"Fractured, haunting, intimate and totally original, Ways of Telling knocked the breath out of me. It's dangerously exact, wilfully ambitious, wild in its scope and perfect in its precision." —Olivia Laing

"A sharp, wise and knowing eye, combined with a rare delicacy of prose — this is unlike anything else you will have read. An absolute treat." —Andrew Marr

Additional Book Information

Series: Notting Hill Editions
ISBN: 9781912559893
Pages: 152
Publication Date:

Praise

The settings of these pieces are hugely varied but Bingley brings a penetrating eye and sharp wit to their many different milieus, whether it a spell in hospital or mingling with the crowds at Princess Diana’s funeral... In this marvellous book she has brought a lifetime’s observation and a true writer’s skill to do something far more interesting and rewarding.
—Peter Parker, The Spectator (UK)

Memoirist and former literary agent Bingley finds profundity in the mundane in this lively collection of 26 autobiographical essays that employ a wide range of prose styles...With an evident love for language and the subtle textures of daily life, Bingley provides a dazzling trip inside her mind that rewards close attention. It’s a gem.
—Publishers Weekly

An extraordinary book. Xandra Bingley's darting, curious eyes miss nothing and we follow them with her at a headlong speed. I wish I could write like that.
—Harriet Walter

Xandra Bingley has enriched my life . . . Now she is about to enrich yours.
—Margaret Atwood

I couldn’t love it more. After the very first story I had a huge wide grin on my face. More more more! Every single story could be an award-winning short film. I love, love, love it.
—Carey Mulligan

The pieces in this book are just the right size to blow one’s mind in a train or on a tram: they have a most unusual delicacy, wit and freshness, and their physical world is powerfully seductive.
—Helen Garner

An extraordinary book. Xandra Bingley's darting, curious eyes miss nothing and we follow them with her at a headlong speed. I wish I could write like that.
—Harriet Walter

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