What do you think?
Rate this book
Midland Oteli’nde Çay
David Constantine Midland Oteli’nde Çay’da gerçek hayatı bütün çıplaklığıyla merkeze alırken hikâye anlatma, dil ve anlatım ustalığını büyüleyici bir edebi dehayla birleştiriyor. Onun karakterleri zarif bir isyanla var oluyor, yenilgi karşısında yıkılmayıp onu omuzlarına attıkları bir pelerin gibi taşıyorlar. Constantine doğanın da âdeta bir karakter gibi öykülerin atmosferini oluşturduğu bir dünyaya davet ediyor okuru.
2010 BBC Ulusal Öykü Ödülü ile 2013 Frank O’Connor Uluslararası Öykü Ödülü’nü alan Midland Oteli’nde Çay, David Constantine’in Türkçede yayımlanan ikinci kitabı.
2010 BBC Ulusal Öykü Ödülü ile 2013 Frank O’Connor Uluslararası Öykü Ödülü’nü alan Midland Oteli’nde Çay, David Constantine’in Türkçede yayımlanan ikinci kitabı.
343 pages, Paperback
First published September 20, 2012
9 people are currently reading
297 people want to read
About the author
David Constantine
104 books34 followersBorn in 1944, David Constantine worked for thirty years as a university teacher of German language and literature. He has published several volumes of poetry, most recently, Nine Fathom Deep (2009). He is a translator of Hölderlin, Brecht, Goethe, Kleist, Michaux and Jaccottet. In 2003 his translation of Hans Magnus Enzensberger's Lighter Than Air won the Corneliu M Popescu Prize for European Poetry Translation. His translation of Goethe's Faust, Part I was published by Penguin in 2005; Part II in April 2009. He is also author of one novel, Davies, and Fields of Fire: A Life of Sir William Hamilton. His four short story collections are Back at the Spike, the highly acclaimed Under the Dam (Comma, 2005), and The Shieling (Comma, 2009), which was shortlisted for the 2010 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award. Constantine's story 'Tea at the Midland' won the BBC National Short Story Award 2010, and won the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award in 2013 for the collection (Comma Press, 2012). He lives in Oxford where, for ten years, he edited Modern Poetry in Translation with his wife Helen (until 2011). David's short story 'In Another Country' has been adapted into 45 Years - a major Film4-funded feature film, directed by Andrew Haigh and starring Tom Courtenay & Charlotte Rampling. This film won two silver bear awards at the Berlinale International Film festival in February 2015. David is also the author of the forthcoming novel, released by Comma Press, The Life-Writer.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
May 24, 2018
on yıldız olsaydı on yıldız verirdim. ilk kitabıyla başladığım yolculuk bu kitapta doruğa ulaştı diyebilirim.
19 yaşımdayken semih gümüş, katherine mansfield'ın "ölü albayın kızları"nı hediye etmişti okumam için. aradan yıllar geçti ama sanki o kitabı okuduğumdan beri ilk kez bir öykü yazarı beni bu kadar etkiledi. ki bunun yine semih abi'nin yayımladığı bir kitap olması ve constantine'i zaten onun önermiş olması da benim hayatımın özeti gibi bir şey :)
has edebiyat nedir dense, işte bu öykülerdir derim. bu kitabı ilkinden daha çok sevdim, sonlara doğru her öyküde garip bir biçimde ağlamaya başladım. anımsattıkları çok başkaydı. "başka bir ülkede" kitabında daha çok ilişkilere odaklanmışken bu kitapta hepimizin derdi olan kentleşme, yıkım, bir kenara atılmış yoksullar, evsizler, deliler öne çıktı sanki... ya da beni onların olduğu öyküler etkiledi. bir de yaşlılık. yalnızlık. bazen tek bir cümle, bazen tek bir sözcük yetiyor öyküde. çünkü müthiş bir atmosfer kuruyor.
ve bu arada aylin ülçer'in çevirisi çok iyi. şiir dizelerinden tutun da dirim, sürgit gibi unuttuğumuz değerli sözcükleri kullanması açısından da...
kitap hakkında express'e yazdım:
http://tembelveyazar.blogspot.com.tr/...
19 yaşımdayken semih gümüş, katherine mansfield'ın "ölü albayın kızları"nı hediye etmişti okumam için. aradan yıllar geçti ama sanki o kitabı okuduğumdan beri ilk kez bir öykü yazarı beni bu kadar etkiledi. ki bunun yine semih abi'nin yayımladığı bir kitap olması ve constantine'i zaten onun önermiş olması da benim hayatımın özeti gibi bir şey :)
has edebiyat nedir dense, işte bu öykülerdir derim. bu kitabı ilkinden daha çok sevdim, sonlara doğru her öyküde garip bir biçimde ağlamaya başladım. anımsattıkları çok başkaydı. "başka bir ülkede" kitabında daha çok ilişkilere odaklanmışken bu kitapta hepimizin derdi olan kentleşme, yıkım, bir kenara atılmış yoksullar, evsizler, deliler öne çıktı sanki... ya da beni onların olduğu öyküler etkiledi. bir de yaşlılık. yalnızlık. bazen tek bir cümle, bazen tek bir sözcük yetiyor öyküde. çünkü müthiş bir atmosfer kuruyor.
ve bu arada aylin ülçer'in çevirisi çok iyi. şiir dizelerinden tutun da dirim, sürgit gibi unuttuğumuz değerli sözcükleri kullanması açısından da...
kitap hakkında express'e yazdım:
http://tembelveyazar.blogspot.com.tr/...
May 30, 2025
Çok beğendim. Hatta bir adım ileri götüreyim bu kitabın hissettirdiklerini çok az kitap hissettirdi bana. Öykünün ne kadar güçlü bir tür olduğunu yeniden hatırladım. Her öykü sanki görünürde basit bir anı anlatıyor gibi başlıyor ama birkaç sayfa içinde içe doğru açılmaya, insanın en kırılgan, en karmaşık yanlarına dokunmaya başlıyor. Öykülerin tamamına sinen yalnızlık, köksüzlük, uyumsuzluk ile yoğurulmuş bir olduramama hali var. Bazen bir evsiz üstünden bazen bir yaşlı adam üstünden yazar bunu öyle güzel anlatıyor ki özellikle hiçbir şey yapmıyor ama öyküyü okurken de bitirince yumruk yemiş gibi oluyorsunuz. En çok bunu çaktırmadan zarafetle yapmasını sevdim sanırım. Ve tabii tüm derlemenin okuyucuda kedere dönüşecek bir duygusu var ki bazı öykülerden sonra ara vermek istedim. Bu kadar gerçek bir şeyler hissettiğim kurgu eserler karşısında büyüleniyorum. Midland Oteli’nde Çay da benim için öyle bir kitap. Favori seçmek zor ama çok etkilendiğim öyküler; Midland Oteli’nde Çay, Bir Ada, Teke, Hava İnceldiğinde ve Bay Carlton oldu. Okuduğundan fazlasıyla ilgilenen, yalnızlık, kayıp ve var oluşsal huzursuzluk hakkında düşünmeyi seven herkese tavsiye ederim.
October 18, 2018
Belli bir mesafeden bakıyorsanız, yağmurun süslediği puslu güz akşamlarında cadde ışıkları, yine kendi ışıklarının patlayıp saçılmış görüntüsünü sunan balonumsu bir hareyle kaplı olurlar. Bu kürenin tatlı bulanıklığı sizi yanıltabilir, bir an için, gözlerinizin bozulmaya başladığı geçebilir aklınızdan. İnatla daha dikkatli baktığınızda ise, döngüsel bir infilak, patladığı anda donakalmış bir havai fişek gibi göz kırpan bu oluşumun dışa doğru katman katman farklılaşan ışık iğneleri fırlattığını fark edersiniz. Öyle ki; yoğunlaşmış merkezden itibaren her ışık iğnesi çemberi, doğurduğu diğer katmanı, ona kendi varlığının bir kopyasını eklercesine çoğaltmaktadır. Açılıp büyüyen her çember, hücresel olarak kat be kat zenginleşir. Ne var ki karanlığa yaklaştığı için parlaklığını biraz yitirmiştir. Sessizce, bilgece bir kabullenişle boyun eğer buna, hatta pek umursamaz. Yalnız en dıştaki, geceye karışmadan hemen önce hafifçe kırılır.
Midland Oteli’nde Çay mı? İki on paraya satılan bir elmas bu kitap.
Midland Oteli’nde Çay mı? İki on paraya satılan bir elmas bu kitap.
April 27, 2023
nihayet bitti 🫠
July 22, 2015
can't wait to read this, I'm a big fan ever since 'Under the Dam'.
Finally came in at the library.
These stories usually centre around a misfit or a traveller, someone without roots or family, orphans or the estranged and forging unlikely or odd relationships with others and communities. Houses with ill fitting windows and buildings about to be demolished feature, institutions (Old and new - the Church; 'Jail UK' who take over an abandoned castle). The characters are often withdrawn, some suicidal, some depressed, some maybe schizophrenic, having to be coaxed into the light, or feisty. But this description doesn't convey the light and life in amongst all this, abundance of flowers, rivers, birds. There is joy and connection and insight. Old fashioned to an extent - there are coal or wood fires in most rooms, there is singing and religion. Sometimes paganism and the church meet. In 'Goat' the titular character, who lives in a derelict school, has bumps on his forehead and suffers from priapism: Goat fluttered like a bat in the headmaster's gown, up and out through his flies burst his cheerful affliction, dark as a donkey's.. The Canon, dancing also, throws his collar - he hoopla-ed it over the risen vicar of Goat.
Above all these are beautiful stories reaching deep within you. Often simple: in 'Mr Carlton' a bereaved man abandons his car in a motorway traffic jam and watches the life of a house below the raised carriageway, where something idyllic and slow seems to happen. In 'Ev's garden' terraced graves tumble revealing skulls and bones.
In 'Romantic' a wanderer turns up at his ex lover's and settles there for a bit, almost proposing, while she tells him stories of her clients, child abusers and druggies and the mentally ill, and they have sex: At first they made love like the starving, they sucked the breath out of one another's lungs, they respired it back in, mixed. Then, recovering their know how of one another, they slowed and by a sort of thinking - that of the parts that feel - they devised what would be the best, each for the other's pleasure.
Consantine is a poet and this shows constantly in the pieces, eg a train: the one night express, the comet with its long tail of sleeping people and their dreams. He is also an inspiration to us old gits. The flowering of this talent as a short story writer has come in the last decade (although there was an earlier collection), starting with the great Under the Dam, published in 2006 when he was 62.
I was going to give it four as some stories I didn't take to much, but that could have been down to my unreceptiveness (reading while commuting and sometimes so squashed together I can only just turn the page). But several stories - Tea at the Midland, An Island, Goat, Ev's Garden, Mr Carlton, Romantic - are as good as anything he's done, so 5 it is.
Finally came in at the library.
These stories usually centre around a misfit or a traveller, someone without roots or family, orphans or the estranged and forging unlikely or odd relationships with others and communities. Houses with ill fitting windows and buildings about to be demolished feature, institutions (Old and new - the Church; 'Jail UK' who take over an abandoned castle). The characters are often withdrawn, some suicidal, some depressed, some maybe schizophrenic, having to be coaxed into the light, or feisty. But this description doesn't convey the light and life in amongst all this, abundance of flowers, rivers, birds. There is joy and connection and insight. Old fashioned to an extent - there are coal or wood fires in most rooms, there is singing and religion. Sometimes paganism and the church meet. In 'Goat' the titular character, who lives in a derelict school, has bumps on his forehead and suffers from priapism: Goat fluttered like a bat in the headmaster's gown, up and out through his flies burst his cheerful affliction, dark as a donkey's.. The Canon, dancing also, throws his collar - he hoopla-ed it over the risen vicar of Goat.
Above all these are beautiful stories reaching deep within you. Often simple: in 'Mr Carlton' a bereaved man abandons his car in a motorway traffic jam and watches the life of a house below the raised carriageway, where something idyllic and slow seems to happen. In 'Ev's garden' terraced graves tumble revealing skulls and bones.
In 'Romantic' a wanderer turns up at his ex lover's and settles there for a bit, almost proposing, while she tells him stories of her clients, child abusers and druggies and the mentally ill, and they have sex: At first they made love like the starving, they sucked the breath out of one another's lungs, they respired it back in, mixed. Then, recovering their know how of one another, they slowed and by a sort of thinking - that of the parts that feel - they devised what would be the best, each for the other's pleasure.
Consantine is a poet and this shows constantly in the pieces, eg a train: the one night express, the comet with its long tail of sleeping people and their dreams. He is also an inspiration to us old gits. The flowering of this talent as a short story writer has come in the last decade (although there was an earlier collection), starting with the great Under the Dam, published in 2006 when he was 62.
I was going to give it four as some stories I didn't take to much, but that could have been down to my unreceptiveness (reading while commuting and sometimes so squashed together I can only just turn the page). But several stories - Tea at the Midland, An Island, Goat, Ev's Garden, Mr Carlton, Romantic - are as good as anything he's done, so 5 it is.
Read
January 31, 2021Öykü türünün pek bana göre olmadığını kabul etmem gerekiyor.
Anlatılan kadar kurgulandığı gerçeğini bir türlü kabul edemiyorum, sanki daha fazlası varmış da benden saklanıyormuş gibi:) Bir Ada, Charis ve Su Bendinin ve Yolun Yamacındaki Ev gayet güzel öyküler. Benim tam alamadığım keyfi siz alırsınız umarım.
Anlatılan kadar kurgulandığı gerçeğini bir türlü kabul edemiyorum, sanki daha fazlası varmış da benden saklanıyormuş gibi:) Bir Ada, Charis ve Su Bendinin ve Yolun Yamacındaki Ev gayet güzel öyküler. Benim tam alamadığım keyfi siz alırsınız umarım.
September 4, 2020
The book consists of 16 stories. Each story leaves a different impression on you. Frankly, the story that impressed me the most; Mr. Carlton.
February 15, 2014
I had heard great reports of David Constantine, but, having picked up the book several times in bookshops thought his writing would steal my time and require a bit too much of my dwindling and tiring grey-celled concentration, when I read for pleasure and to give my mind a rest from the stresses and computers of work. I was wrong. He is a master of eloquent prose and I found myself rereading paragraphs! Was that description that I have read that good? I really enjoyed reading his stories and wished the book was longer! I'd say he rewrites until he is 100% content with every sentence. His modern day characters, perhaps tired by life, are resilient to the hardship of their lives and defying convention that society thrusts on us. Many are just escaping, like many of us wish to do. Stylish writing, but, a style achieved through hard work or sheer bloody natural talent, which would irritate us secret amateurs! Why bother when David Constantine is above ground? Another author for my automatic-buy list. Oh, the list lengthens and the pressure mounts! Still it beats most of what's on the TV or in the news media and you can't say much better than that in these troubled times.
January 25, 2013
possibly 4.5.
Constantine writes beautiful little gems of stories that contain both beautifully crafted prose and lovely insights into the very human characters and experiences, whether through events reflecting upon past experiences (as in The House by the Weir and the Way) or from snapshots of lives, as seen in the title story.
Five of the stories were read last week on BBC Radio 4extra, and I think I may have to get the book to check out the rest. Re-reading those already heard will also be a pleasure.
Constantine writes beautiful little gems of stories that contain both beautifully crafted prose and lovely insights into the very human characters and experiences, whether through events reflecting upon past experiences (as in The House by the Weir and the Way) or from snapshots of lives, as seen in the title story.
Five of the stories were read last week on BBC Radio 4extra, and I think I may have to get the book to check out the rest. Re-reading those already heard will also be a pleasure.
September 18, 2014
A number of these stories are easily read but others require considerable attention and are rewarded by re-reading. Overall an enjoyable collection though with the short story format explored in both its short and long forms. Not edgy work in any sense and, if anything, honed to the middle ground. But that said there is an anti-establishment feel to the collection as a whole that is very appealing.
January 2, 2020
David Constantine içimdeki edebiyat sevgisinin tüm kirini pasını alan, ortalığı cilalayıp çıkan ve bana çok iyi gelen bir üsluba sahip. Bir Ada ve Midland Oteli’nde Çay öykülerini ise ara ara gider gelir sürekli okurum.
July 8, 2020
There is eloquence in this collection, alternating eloquence. That is to say I found myself enjoying every other story.
I believe Constantine is a poet first and it shows in his use of description. It has a very appealing rhythm and focuses on the characters' interior lives and the glory of nature.
He also is clearly an advocate of unpunctuated speech, leaving out quotation marks so that the dialogue seeps into the setting and themes. This works but I did struggle with it a few times. Then again lengthy stream of consciousness has been known to make me fidget and long for a definitive break in perspective.
Most of the stories I didn't like lost me early on and then seemed to accelerate their train of thought. One thing I really dislike is being left behind by the writer while reading.
Nevertheless I persevered with Tea at the Midland for its lovely humanist moments and it's occasional plot-heavy tale. If you enjoy poetic prose that flows like the bodies of water it adores to dwell on, I recommend this book.
Notable Stories
• Goat - the most eccentric tale of the collection with a tragic twist.
• Strong Enough to Help - an uplifting account of loneliness finding kindness.
• Mr Carlton - a story about a calm cottage in the middle of a motorway.
I believe Constantine is a poet first and it shows in his use of description. It has a very appealing rhythm and focuses on the characters' interior lives and the glory of nature.
He also is clearly an advocate of unpunctuated speech, leaving out quotation marks so that the dialogue seeps into the setting and themes. This works but I did struggle with it a few times. Then again lengthy stream of consciousness has been known to make me fidget and long for a definitive break in perspective.
Most of the stories I didn't like lost me early on and then seemed to accelerate their train of thought. One thing I really dislike is being left behind by the writer while reading.
Nevertheless I persevered with Tea at the Midland for its lovely humanist moments and it's occasional plot-heavy tale. If you enjoy poetic prose that flows like the bodies of water it adores to dwell on, I recommend this book.
Notable Stories
• Goat - the most eccentric tale of the collection with a tragic twist.
• Strong Enough to Help - an uplifting account of loneliness finding kindness.
• Mr Carlton - a story about a calm cottage in the middle of a motorway.
October 4, 2018
This was the book group book for September, initially I was quite excited by it given the fantastic reviews and then I read the first few stories and was left somewhat cold. I couldn't muster up any interest in any of the characters. I abandoned reading "Island" and moved to a shorter story in the hope that it would be different however I felt much the same about the next story and ended up putting the book to one side and reading something else.
I went to the book group meeting feeling like a failure as I had only finished 4 of the stories in the end however it seems everyone else in the group had struggled with the stories too for similar reasons.
Clearly this book is like marmite in that you will either love it or hate it - merely a matter of style preference I think and this is not my "cup of tea"
I went to the book group meeting feeling like a failure as I had only finished 4 of the stories in the end however it seems everyone else in the group had struggled with the stories too for similar reasons.
Clearly this book is like marmite in that you will either love it or hate it - merely a matter of style preference I think and this is not my "cup of tea"
December 28, 2017
to be honest I didn't really like it much - a friend bought it because we'd been to afternoon tea at the midland on holiday - and I read it all because I felt I should, but probably also because it's short storied so I hoped that some would be better. Some were better than others but I don't feel like I was particularly entertained / got much enjoyment from it - I shalln't be seeking out other things by this author I'm afraid.
September 6, 2023
Feels like an interesting experimentation of poetry combined with short stories. Wasn't an easy read. Sometimes the story goes through an opaque spiral; at other times, there is a literary blow from the author to the reader. I hated that spiral and I liked the author's ability to kick the reader subtly through language. I liked how it suggests the lives of the character could be more than fun, consequential or clearly dramatic to allure the reader.
June 16, 2020
18 bölümden oluşan kitabın ilk öyküsü olan Midland Oteli'nde Çay öyküsü kitaba ismini veren öykü olmuş. Yazarın edebi dilini begendim öyküleri genelde melankolik tarzda. Özellikle dikkatimi çeken mülteciler üzerinde fazlaca durup pek çok öyküsünde yer vermiş olması. İngiliz yazarın 2.kitabı olan bu kitap okumaya değer diyebilirim.
May 15, 2017
This is a must read for those who like short stories. David Constantine has such an easy writing style that just flows that you don't want it to end. This version was also narrated by Derek Jacobi who was marvellous.
March 27, 2018
Two of the sixteen did not appeal to me, but the rest rich and rewarding, some as much as a novel. Some re-reads because of appearing in other collections, and all with a quiet authority and a way of telling that is admirable and very satisfying.
December 15, 2017
Don't bother, just don't.
December 15, 2017
Listened to this on audible. Glad it was free. A game of would you forgive someone for incest if they could solve other problems? Gross.
July 20, 2019
Absolutely captivating. These were not stories, but morsels of magic woven with words. Each spell left a mix of emotion lingering after its end.
January 7, 2020
Well-written, slightly quirky stories but not really to my taste. Well worth a try but I don't think I will be looking at his others anytime soon.
March 6, 2024
Reading David Constantine is like walking through an art museum. Each of the short stories in this collection was like a painting. Perhaps that is because Constantine is at heart a poet. My favorite of this collection was the first story (the title of the book), which won a BBC national short story award and other honors.
Let me show you why from the beginning of the first short story:
“To the woman watching they looked like grace itself, the heart and soul of which is freedom. It pleased her particularly that they were attached by invisible strings to colourful curves of rapidly moving air…”
“The man had barely noticed the surf-riders…all he saw was the woman, and that he had no presence in her thoughts.”
The ending is superb poetry:
“He left. She turned again to watch the surfers.”
This might be the crux of Constantine’s stories: the idea of observation of our surroundings and attention to people in our lives.
I found another clue in the story “The House by the Weir and the Way” - a surprise story located along the Camino de Santiago.
One character says to a visiting pilgrim: “all that mattered…was that things should matter.”
Tea at the Midland and other stories 📖 by David Constantine
Let me show you why from the beginning of the first short story:
“To the woman watching they looked like grace itself, the heart and soul of which is freedom. It pleased her particularly that they were attached by invisible strings to colourful curves of rapidly moving air…”
“The man had barely noticed the surf-riders…all he saw was the woman, and that he had no presence in her thoughts.”
The ending is superb poetry:
“He left. She turned again to watch the surfers.”
This might be the crux of Constantine’s stories: the idea of observation of our surroundings and attention to people in our lives.
I found another clue in the story “The House by the Weir and the Way” - a surprise story located along the Camino de Santiago.
One character says to a visiting pilgrim: “all that mattered…was that things should matter.”
Tea at the Midland and other stories 📖 by David Constantine
February 19, 2016
If you like literary short stories, David Constantine's "Tea at the Midland and other stories" is a must read.
This collection features 16 stories that vary in place (though I think, offhand, they all take place in the UK) and time, but all feature characters who seem to be pushing up against something and, in some cases, trying to escape that something.
Constantine fits right in to the mold of the classic short story writer, valuing language and metaphor and writing with a quiet subtlety. There are no hooks and narrative-driven plot devices, just words that shine a light on every-day struggle and heartbreak in a beautiful way, even when he's exposing ugliness.
There were some lulls for me — a few stories that didn't capture my attention in the same way — but it's also a book that I feel I can go back and read at some point and enjoy on a whole different level.
I wouldn't recommend this book to just anyone, but for the right person it's definitely one to add to your reading list.
This collection features 16 stories that vary in place (though I think, offhand, they all take place in the UK) and time, but all feature characters who seem to be pushing up against something and, in some cases, trying to escape that something.
Constantine fits right in to the mold of the classic short story writer, valuing language and metaphor and writing with a quiet subtlety. There are no hooks and narrative-driven plot devices, just words that shine a light on every-day struggle and heartbreak in a beautiful way, even when he's exposing ugliness.
There were some lulls for me — a few stories that didn't capture my attention in the same way — but it's also a book that I feel I can go back and read at some point and enjoy on a whole different level.
I wouldn't recommend this book to just anyone, but for the right person it's definitely one to add to your reading list.
March 27, 2025
Cok ama cok iyi yazilmis hikayeler. Son hikaye haric (ki temel problemi gereginden uzun olmasiydi) hepsinin orijinal bir uslubu var.
Herkes okusun ve oyku yaziciligi Sait Faik'ten Raymond Carver'dan ibaret degilmis bunu gorsun. Bu ikisinde sadece bazen hissedebildigim insani beklenmedik ama tanidik bir yerden cekip goturme duygusu buradaki neredeyse butun sayfalara islemis durumda.
Oykuden bekledigim budur
Daha az stresli oldugum bir zamanda tekrar okumak icin sabirsizlaniyorum.
Ayrica o modern Pan oykusunde olmak isteyen pastoralistler eklesin, gidip dans edelim
Herkes okusun ve oyku yaziciligi Sait Faik'ten Raymond Carver'dan ibaret degilmis bunu gorsun. Bu ikisinde sadece bazen hissedebildigim insani beklenmedik ama tanidik bir yerden cekip goturme duygusu buradaki neredeyse butun sayfalara islemis durumda.
Oykuden bekledigim budur
Daha az stresli oldugum bir zamanda tekrar okumak icin sabirsizlaniyorum.
Ayrica o modern Pan oykusunde olmak isteyen pastoralistler eklesin, gidip dans edelim
March 18, 2013
I took a long time to read 'Tea at The Midland'; not because it was laborious in anyway but because I wanted to draw out the experience and wind it in and around several novels. Constantine is a brilliant short-story writer: lyrical, vivid, realistic, transportative, human. There's such potency in these stories - however odd or abstract their emotional immediacy or stark imagery is difficult to forget.
October 11, 2015
Currently reading 'An Island'. I very much concur with the views already expressed about the wonderful prose. I am thoroughly enjoying it and am so glad it was recommended to me. I look forward to reading more of Constantine's work.
Does anybody know where this particular island is? I think is is part of the archipelago of the Scilly Isles. There is no island called 'Halangy' but there is an ancient burial site of this name on the island of St Mary's.
Does anybody know where this particular island is? I think is is part of the archipelago of the Scilly Isles. There is no island called 'Halangy' but there is an ancient burial site of this name on the island of St Mary's.
July 28, 2015
Sorry. Found it impossible to warm to any of the characters, hard to suss what was happening in nearly half the stories; and Constantine's language too often feels stiff and awkward, like botched translations from another language.
July 4, 2013
**Winner of the 2013 Frank O'Connor Short Story Award**
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews