Shifts

by Adam Thorpe

In his first collection of short stories, Adam Thorpe, acclaimed poet and novelist, explores the lives of his characters through the work they do- the jobs that empower or enslave, define or destroy them. Whether it is a dustman or a craftsman, on an English production line or deep in the forests of Africa, work is seen as a means of social classification, an engine of prejudice or compassion or as an arena where bullying and subservience have some kind of legitimacy. Do we choose the job or does the job choose us, Adam Thorpe asks- does the job become us or do we become the job? Using the framework of occupation, its mundane tedium, its strictures and releases, we are shown the unquenchable vitality of the human spirit- its continual capacity for a life beyond. Told with vivid energy and a poet's delight in language, Shifts confirms Adam Thorpe as one of the most talented writers of his generation.

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Adam Thorpe is a British poet, novelist, and playwright whose works also include short stories and radio dramas.

Adam Thorpe was born in Paris and grew up in India, Cameroon, and England. Graduating from Magdalen College, Oxford in 1979, he founded a touring theatre company, then settled in London to teach drama and English literature.

His first collection of poetry, Mornings in the Baltic (1988), was shortlisted for the Whitbread Poetry Award. His first novel, Ulverton (1992), an episodic work covering 350 years of English rural history, won great critical acclaim worldwide, including that of novelist John Fowles, who reviewed it in The Guardian, calling it "(...) the most interesting first novel I have read these last years". The novel was awarded the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize for 1992.

Adam Thorpe lives in France with his wife and three children.

-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Rohani · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Review is for 'Tyres]

Set in WW2 German-occupied France about a family that owns a tyre shop through the POV of a young narrator. It's a coming-of-age story about hard work, responsibility, young love and really bad timing. The ending gave me heart palpatations :(

[Lucy Galvin]

Solid British author

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the few books I didn’t finish. It’s not that Adam Thorpe’s writing is bad - just that the collection of short stories has reminded me that I’d rather dip into a novel-length story than have to relearn characters many times over in short stories.