Not the End of the World (short story collection)

Last updated

Not the End of the World
Not the End of the World (short story collection) 1st edition cover.jpg
First edition
Author Kate Atkinson
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Publisher Doubleday
Publication date
November 2002
Media typePrint, audio and e-book
Pages278
ISBN 978-0-385-60472-7
OCLC 469945377

Not the End of the World is a short story collection by British writer Kate Atkinson. It is mostly set in Scotland, and is an experiment in magic realism. [1] The collection was first published in 2002 by Doubleday.

It contains 12 loosely connected stories:

  1. "Charlene and Trudi Go Shopping": Two women obsessively make unreal and bizarre lists, managing to lead apparently normal lives, oblivious to the reality around them which is of the city being torn apart by an apocalyptic war.
  2. "Tunnel of Fish": A pregnant mother living in Edinburgh with her partner Hawk, worries about her fish-obsessed son Eddie and reminisces about the past including her first holiday abroad to Crete during which Eddie was conceived; she has a vivid memory of being dragged down to the Mediterranean sea-bed and ravaged by an undersea god. On his birthday Eddie is taken to Deep Sea World where in the undersea tunnel he receives a message from a giant carp.
  3. "Transparent Fiction": Meredith Zane (one of the Zane sisters) is working her way around Europe but has come to a halt in London where she finds herself living with Fletcher, a writer for a television soap Green Acres. The night before she plans to leave Fletcher and continue her tour they are invited to a dinner party by a television producer at which Meredith meets Merle Goldeman who appears to have been alive for millennia. Meredith determines to steal the secret of eternal life for herself.
  4. "Dissonance": Rebecca and Simon live with their divorced mother Pam. Simon spends most of his time in his room playing Tekken 3 on his PlayStation, listening to Korn and 'Boak' on his stereo and making occasional trips out to shoplift and skateboard. Rebecca in contrast is studying hard for her highers listening to classical music, and plans to study medicine at university.
  5. "Sheer Big Waste of Love": Addison Fox was orphaned at the age of eight. His mother, a prostitute is dying of cancer attempts to reunite Addison with his father, a successful local businessman. As a result of this meeting Addison, his mother and an innocent bystander end up in casualty.
  6. "Unseen Translation": Missy has just become nanny for Arthur, the eight-year-old son of glamour model Romney Wright and the lead singer of a rock band 'Boak'. Arthur's father is on tour in Germany and Missy is to take Arthur to visit him.
  7. "Evil Doppelgangers": Fielding, who is media correspondent for a newspaper, suspects he has a doppelganger who is having far more fun than himself and creating havoc in the process. Fielding resolves to track him down.
  8. "The Cat Lover": After breaking up with her boyfriend Fletcher (a television scriptwriter), Heidi is followed home by a dishevelled cat. She names the cat Gordon and it soon takes over her flat, eating more and more food and growing ever larger, until Heidi wonders when she will be eaten herself. Gordon also becomes more and more human and eventually begins sleeping in Heidi's bed.
  9. "The Bodies Vest": Vincent is well acquainted with death. He remembers his father falling from the fourth-floor window he was trying to clean. And then the death of his new wife (one of the Zane sisters) who died whilst having a wisdom tooth extracted. Her father (a dentist) then kills himself.
  10. "Temporal Anomaly": Marianne dies in a road accident on the M9. She wakes to find herself sitting on the hard shoulder and stumbles into the nearby Little Chef but cannot make herself noticed, then she walks the four miles home.
  11. "Wedding Favours": Pam's son Simon has now left home. Soon Pam finds herself in business with her friend Maggie producing wedding favours.
  12. "Pleasureland": Charlene and Trudi (from the first story in the collection) soon find themselves boarded up in Trudi's flat, the whole building being declared a plague area. With electricity failing and food running out they tell each other tales of the Greek gods. The narrative ends with Trudi telling Charlene "Don't worry, it's not the end of the world".

Related Research Articles

<i>The Silence of the Hams</i> 1994 film

The Silence of the Hams is a 1994 comedy thriller film written by, directed by, and starring Italian comedian Ezio Greggio. It is a parody of many popular thriller and horror films, notably The Silence of the Lambs and Psycho. Along with Greggio, it features an ensemble cast of Dom DeLuise, Billy Zane, Joanna Pacuła, Charlene Tilton and Martin Balsam.

<i>Stones from the River</i> 1994 novel by Ursula Hegi

Stones from the River is the third-person omniscient 1994 novel by Ursula Hegi which chronicles 40 years of the life of Trudi, a woman with dwarfism, as she navigates the silently complicit, violent, and redemptive era of World War I and II Germany in the fictional town of Burgdorf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodney Blackstock</span> Fictional character from Emmerdale

Rodney Blackstock is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Emmerdale, played by Patrick Mower. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 24 October 2000. He was introduced as the estranged father of Bernice Blackstock, with his backstory involving him leaving her at five years old. Rodney has been described as an "ageing lothario" who enjoys wine, money and the company of women. In 2012, he was ranked within What's on TV's top 100 British soap characters of all time.

<i>The Looking Glass Wars</i> 2004 novel by Frank Beddor

The Looking Glass Wars is a series of three novels by Frank Beddor, heavily inspired by Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking-Glass. The premise is that the two books written by Lewis Carroll are a distortion of the "true story".

"There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" is a children's rhyme and nonsense song of a kind known as cumulative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Karev</span> Fictional character

Alexander Michael Karev,, M.D., F.A.C.S is a fictional character on the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy, portrayed by actor Justin Chambers. Introduced as a surgical intern at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital, Karev eventually obtained the position of resident, later becoming a pediatric surgeon. He then becomes Interim Chief of surgery for a six-month period while Bailey is on a "stress sabbatical". The relationships among colleagues Meredith Grey, Cristina Yang, Izzie Stevens and George O'Malley formed a focal point of the series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Webber</span> Fictional character

Richard Webber, M.D., Ph.D, F.A.C.S is a fictional character from the ABC medical drama television series Grey's Anatomy. The character was created by Shonda Rhimes and is portrayed by actor James Pickens Jr. since the start of the show in 2005. At the beginning of the show, he is the Chief of Surgery at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital for 12 years. In season 6, he has to resign his position as chief and is briefly replaced by Derek Shepherd. Webber takes his position back as chief in season 7 but eventually resigns again in season 8 in order to protect Meredith Grey. He goes back to being General Surgery attending, although all the staff still calls him "Chief" due to his history. Later, Richard accepts to become the head of the residency program mentoring the residents. In season 17 Richard is appointed Chief of Chiefs of the Catherine Fox foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Addison Montgomery</span> Fictional character

Addison Adrianne Forbes Montgomery, M.D., F.A.C.S., F.A.C.O.G is a fictional character who appears as a supporting main character on the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy, and as the protagonist of its spin-off Private Practice played by Kate Walsh. Addison is a world-class neonatal surgeon with board certifications in both Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Maternal and Fetal Medicine. Additionally, she has completed a medical genetics fellowship. She works at the Oceanside Wellness Group, a fictional practice located in Santa Monica, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angela Martin</span> Fictional character from The Office (US)

Angela Noelle Schrute is a fictional character in the U.S. version of the television sitcom The Office, portrayed by actress Angela Kinsey. The character is based on Sheila from the original version of The Office. She is introduced as the senior accountant, head of the Party Planning Committee, and safety officer at the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin. Her character serves as the stuck-up and more professional face of the branch. She begins a relationship with co-worker Dwight Schrute, whom she begins secretly dating in the second season, has a child with in the eighth, and marries in the ninth. This relationship continues during the fourth season while she is engaged to salesman Andy Bernard. She also has a short-lived marriage with Pennsylvania State Senator Robert Lipton, who is initially believed to be the father of her child, Phillip. Dwight often refers to her affectionately as "Monkey."

<i>Step Up 2: The Streets</i> 2008 American film

Step Up 2: The Streets is a 2008 American dance drama film directed by Jon M. Chu and written by Toni Ann Johnson and Karen Barna. It serves as a sequel to 2006's Step Up and the second installment in the Step Up film series. The film stars Briana Evigan, Robert Hoffman, Will Kemp, and Cassie Ventura.

<i>Escape from East Berlin</i> 1962 film by Robert Siodmak

Escape from East Berlin is a 1962 American-West German thriller film directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Don Murray, Christine Kaufmann and Werner Klemperer.

<i>Self-Help</i> (short story collection)

Self-Help (1985) is a collection of short stories by Lorrie Moore.

<i>Half Moon Investigations</i> (TV series) British TV series or programme

Half Moon Investigations is a children's crime/comedy drama television series created by the BBC and based upon the novel of the same name by the author Eoin Colfer. It concerns a schoolboy, Fletcher Moon, who spends much of his spare time solving petty crimes around his school, St Jerome's. 13 episodes were first broadcast between January and March 2009. The series was filmed in and around a disused secondary school as well as a Centre for adults with special needs located in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire.

Episode 29 (<i>Twin Peaks</i>) 22nd episode of the 2nd season of Twin Peaks

"Episode 29", also known as "Beyond Life and Death", is the twenty-second and final episode of the second season of the American mystery television series Twin Peaks. Episode 29 served as the final episode of Twin Peaks for over 25 years, until Twin Peaks: The Return was aired in 2017. Upon its original airing in 1991, the episode was paired with episode 28 to form the second hour of what was then billed as a two-part series finale. The episode was written by the series co-creator Mark Frost, producer Harley Peyton and regular writer Robert Engels and was directed by series co-creator David Lynch, who rewrote parts of the script. It features series regulars Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Richard Beymer and Kenneth Welsh; and guest stars Frank Silva as Killer Bob, Michael J. Anderson as The Man from Another Place, Carel Struycken as The Giant, and Heather Graham as Annie Blackburn.

<i>The Nine Lives of Chloe King</i> 2011 American supernatural drama television series

The Nine Lives of Chloe King is an American supernatural drama television series which premiered on ABC Family on June 14, 2011, and ended on August 16, 2011. The one-hour drama is based on the book series of the same name by Liz Braswell. The series follows Chloe King, a girl who discovers that she is a descendant of an ancient race of Bastet offspring called the Mai, as she attempts to learn more about her cat-like powers with her friends and protectors, while also assuming the role of the "Uniter", a warrior that can stop the war between Mai and humans. Chloe is also bestowed with nine lives and must stay alive while dealing with her love life and the mysteries behind her missing father.

"Lice" is the tenth episode of the ninth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the 186th episode overall. The episode was written by Niki Schwartz-Wright and directed by Rodman Flender. It originally aired on NBC on January 10, 2013. The episode guest stars Julius "Dr. J" Erving as himself.

<i>Freaky Friday</i> (2018 film) 2018 television film

Freaky Friday is an American musical television film that premiered as a Disney Channel Original Movie on August 10, 2018. Based on the 1972 book of the same name by Mary Rodgers and the 2016 Disney Theatrical Productions stage adaptation by Bridget Carpenter; the movie is the fourth feature film installment in the Freaky Friday franchise. The adaptation stars Cozi Zuehlsdorff and Heidi Blickenstaff.

<i>Feast of the Seven Fishes</i> (film) 2018 American film

Feast of the Seven Fishes is a 2018 American comedy film written and directed by Robert Tinnell and starring Skyler Gisondo, Madison Iseman, Jessica Darrow, Addison Timlin, Josh Helman, Joe Pantoliano, Paul Ben-Victor, and Ray Abruzzo. It marks the film debut of Jessica Darrow. It is based on Tinnell's 2005 Eisner Award nominated graphic novel of the same name.

References

  1. ↑ Kachka, Boris (undated). "Case Histories". New York . Retrieved 12 August 2013. "In her last book, Not the End of the World, her plaything was magic realism."
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.