We asked readers of Special Treatment & Other Stories which was their favourite story in the book. This is what three of them said:
TOPOLINO: "The whole thing takes place with one guy on the phone. It would make a superb radio or TV play actually. Well it starts with him talking to his post lady at the front door. You don't realise he's in a wheelchair at first. It's a tragic story but there's lots of humour. His phone rings and it's one of those people from an Indian call-centre asking if he's had an accident at work in the last 5yrs – you know the kind of thing. He's lonely and likes the sound of her voice so he says he has and he explains his tragic story of how he ended up in a wheelchair. On one level you're feeling sorry for him but the conversation (and the story actually) is absolutely hilarious. I thought it was so clever, and so authentic. Brilliant!"
LEILA'S DOWRY: "It kind of stands out because it's like a traditional fable really, and a love story. A Moroccan man in a village who's friends turn against him after his wife dies because he lives under a constant dark cloud. You discover how it's about envy. He has a bakery business. They feel they work so much harder. At the same time the baker's donkey is shunned by the other donkeys because carrying bread is so much nicer than carrying butcher's meat, hot charocal or builders rubble. You see how he comes alive on his stall at the market in the town. So he meets an ugly old woman there...ah it's clever...There's a meeting of donkeys, as strange as that may sound. It all seems coincidental but there's a higher purpose. I love it. Shows you what's important in life, you know? Beautiful."
HIS PERILOUS THRONE: "Well it's about this young guy gets put in a prison cell with this nightmare older guy who's in for killing a traffic warden. The older guy bullies the young guy into being his butler. It's chilling the way he behaves. I mean really menacing, but quite subtle. Mental as well as physical abuse really. Over time the bullying guy develops delusions of himself as some kind of lord. But there's an amazing twist at the end. I won't spoil it for you."
LEILA'S DOWRY: "It kind of stands out because it's like a traditional fable really, and a love story. A Moroccan man in a village who's friends turn against him after his wife dies because he lives under a constant dark cloud. You discover how it's about envy. He has a bakery business. They feel they work so much harder. At the same time the baker's donkey is shunned by the other donkeys because carrying bread is so much nicer than carrying butcher's meat, hot charocal or builders rubble. You see how he comes alive on his stall at the market in the town. So he meets an ugly old woman there...ah it's clever...There's a meeting of donkeys, as strange as that may sound. It all seems coincidental but there's a higher purpose. I love it. Shows you what's important in life, you know? Beautiful."
HIS PERILOUS THRONE: "Well it's about this young guy gets put in a prison cell with this nightmare older guy who's in for killing a traffic warden. The older guy bullies the young guy into being his butler. It's chilling the way he behaves. I mean really menacing, but quite subtle. Mental as well as physical abuse really. Over time the bullying guy develops delusions of himself as some kind of lord. But there's an amazing twist at the end. I won't spoil it for you."
Photo: Nottingham.ac.uk
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