Kirjahaku

The book Ken's Shorts is both entertaining and edifying as it is a series of short stories and documentaries-and perhaps a tad irreverent, judging by its title and cover design-that seems to strike a perfect balance between funny and entertaining with educational.

"The stories in Ken Nash's brilliant collection The Brain Harvest lay bare the sparks and idiosyncrasies of an exceptional mind. Each new story is distinct and memorable in its jewel-like compactness, and the characters we meet are unique and endearing. In subject matter, the stories weave and delve into continuously unexpected territory; from the alien adventures of Emily Dickinson, to the intricacies of bespoke basket-making, time travel, orchestral garden plots, and the great green sea lizards that haunt our parents' dreams. Nash's playful and quick-witted style bears echoes of maverick American greats like George Saunders and Donald Barthelme, and recalls the quirkiness of Miranda July. Taut, intelligent, eccentric, and wholly engaging, The Brain Harvest is a wonderful debut for a very talented new writer" (Clare Wigfall, author of The Loudest Sound and Nothing and winner of the 2008 BBC National Short Story Award)

Fiction. Art. It's possible to read LIFE RAFT as a continuation of The Brain Harvest, Nash's first story collection. The major themes of sundry infatuations, family relations, and the power of art to sustain us remain. But there is something new happening below the surface, lingering beneath each story. Something darker and more threatening than anything in The Brain Harvest. Yet, like with that first story collection, LIFE RAFT remains determined to reveal that art and imagination are perhaps the only way to safely traverse such dark waters."Life Raft," the title story of Nash's new collection, makes this creative strategy nearly explicit. Nine passengers are apparently lost at sea aboard a small, inflatable raft. They have been drifting for an inexplicably long period of time. How can they survive like this? Why is it taking so long to be rescued? The subtle, dry humour neither causes nor saves us from complete despair.