Mum and Mr. Armitage: Selected Stories of Beryl Bainbridge

Ms. Beryl Bainbridge not only is a wonderful novelist, she also has shown she possesses a brilliant touch with short stories in her collection, "Mum And Mr. Armitage". The book is a collection of 12 short stories that are all wonderful studies of Human Nature that are often unsettling either due to what they reveal at their conclusion, or to the degree they let the reader fill in the final details and discomfort.Short stories are wonderful in that they challenge the writer to communicate ideas in various lengths, however brief. Ms. Bainbridge not only sets up what seems to be a straightforward experience that may indeed be familiar, only to surprise, shock, or to demonstrate just how subtle her view of Human Behavior is observed and written. The stories may initially appear when read to seem perfectly appropriate, even familiar, that the Author is able to make detailed and definitive observations and conclusions that most people would at best only have a sense of, is the gift she exercises.The story that is also the title of the book gives no hint at the ending. The story is about fun-loving types on Holiday that paint the horns of cattle in paint that glows at night, and other harmless fun. The final sentence will chill your spine. Truth is an oft repeated theme, however the manner in which it is presented is always unique, "The Worst Policy, and The Man That Blew Away", were excellent, the last remarkable.Ms. Bainbridge is a wonderful writer you will not be disappointed.