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Ox-Tales
Ox-Tales: Air
Ox-Tales is a set of four compelling and collectible books, each themed on one of the elements. 'Air' features stories by Alexander McCall Smith, Helen Simpson, DBC Pierre, AL Kennedy, Kamila Shamsie, Beryl Bainbridge, Louise Welsh, Diran Adebayo and Helen Fielding, and a poem by Vikram Seth.The idea behind Ox-Tales is to raise money for Oxfam and along the way to highlight the charity's work in project areas: agriculture in Earth, water projects in Water, conflict aid in Fire, and climate change in Air.
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
208 pages, Paperback
First published July 2, 2009
6 people are currently reading
108 people want to read
About the author
Mark Ellingham
49 books3 followersMark Ellingham was born in Wiltshire, UK, in 1959. After leaving Bristol University in 1981, he was unable to find an interesting job and decided to create his own, writing the first Rough Guide (to Greece). He secured a publishing contract – Routledge paying an advance of £900 ($1800) – midway through writing it. The book was an immediate success and Mark and various friends set to work turning the Rough Guides into a series, producing a dozen further titles over the next five years.
In 1985, Mark and a group of Rough Guide writers and editors, including current travel publisher Martin Dunford, bought the series from Routledge and became independent publishers. They developed more than 200 titles, covering travel and reference subjects as diverse as world music and pregnancy, before selling the company to Penguin Books, in 2002.
Mark (and Martin) continued to run Rough Guides’ publishing at Penguin, 25 years on from that first title, and created a new one-off “ultimate travel experience” series – 25s – to mark the anniversary.
Mark is also a contributing editor for the world music magazine, Songlines, a director of the travel magazine, Wanderlust, and co-publisher of Sort Of Books, which have published bestselling books by Chris Stewart and Tove Jansson, among others. He lives in North London with his wife, Natania Jansz, who co-wrote the first Greece book and now runs Sort Of Books, and their son, Miles. Mark says his interests and passions are charted by the titles on the Rough Guide list, ranging through music, film, football, literature and science. He is currently involved in campaigns to raise awareness of the impact of aviation on Climate Change.
Mark left Rough Guides in 2007 but continues to work as a co-editor on the encyclopedic Rough Guide to World Music. He is also a contributing editor at Songlines World Music magazine, and runs a green and ethical publishing list for Profile Books.
In 1985, Mark and a group of Rough Guide writers and editors, including current travel publisher Martin Dunford, bought the series from Routledge and became independent publishers. They developed more than 200 titles, covering travel and reference subjects as diverse as world music and pregnancy, before selling the company to Penguin Books, in 2002.
Mark (and Martin) continued to run Rough Guides’ publishing at Penguin, 25 years on from that first title, and created a new one-off “ultimate travel experience” series – 25s – to mark the anniversary.
Mark is also a contributing editor for the world music magazine, Songlines, a director of the travel magazine, Wanderlust, and co-publisher of Sort Of Books, which have published bestselling books by Chris Stewart and Tove Jansson, among others. He lives in North London with his wife, Natania Jansz, who co-wrote the first Greece book and now runs Sort Of Books, and their son, Miles. Mark says his interests and passions are charted by the titles on the Rough Guide list, ranging through music, film, football, literature and science. He is currently involved in campaigns to raise awareness of the impact of aviation on Climate Change.
Mark left Rough Guides in 2007 but continues to work as a co-editor on the encyclopedic Rough Guide to World Music. He is also a contributing editor at Songlines World Music magazine, and runs a green and ethical publishing list for Profile Books.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
October 12, 2018
This is much more my style (compared to Murakami's birthday stories). Raw, real, relatable (and the money goes to a good cause too).
April 5, 2015
"Air" is part of a series of four books of short story collections, dealing with the themes of Oxfam's aid projects around the world; the focus for "Air" being action on climate change.
Links to my other reviews for this series: Earth, Fire, Water.
This review will make a note on every story on its own, and not focus on Oxfam's great work. Therefore, potential criticism also deals only with the story in question, not with anything else. (Just to make sure no one gets hurt or angry.)
"Air" by Vikram Seth
No review for this poem, because I am in love with Vikram Seth's poetry and in no way capable of writing an objective review ;).
"Still Life" by Alexander McCall Smith
This is an odd story, and the title fits perfectly. The Scottish countryside in which this story takes place is beautiful and yet so scarcely inhabited that nothing really happens. The characters' emotions seem to be rather subdued as well, leading to me being rather indifferent about the entire thing. I'm 100% sure that his book series about The Number One Ladies Detective Agency Volume 6 is more interesting, even if just for having better characters, but this is not a story that will stay with you for very long.
"The Tipping Point" by Helen Simpson
This story actually fits the theme a bit, what with the main character having recently broken up from his/her environment-protecting partner.
The sad ramblings are a bit hard to follow, and I kept wondering why the couple had broken up (or, even more interesting, why they had gotten together in the first place), but this too will not make it onto my list of favourite stories.
"Suddenly Doctor Cox" by DBC Pierre
Even though it took me quite a while to get into it, this might just be my favourite story in this book.
The character of Doctor Cox is fascinating throughout, and the descriptions of Trinidad from an outsider's point of view are beautiful, especially the introduction.
"Driving to work I saw the most beautiful roadkill. It was a carpet of iridescent butterflies, squashed but flashing on the highway, as if concrete had worn thin over a seam of priceless opal. Wings twitched and glinted in the heat, spurring that human compulsion to stop and urgently gather treasures." (p.43)
I could not have foreseen the ending, which made it stay with me all the more, and which lifted this story far above the other ones in this book.
"Vanish" by Al Kennedy
The story describes a man taking a leap back into life after a painful break-up by going to see a magician's show. While the characters and indeed the entire world remain oddly distant throughout, I was moved by the ending and felt a connection to this story that I cannot explain.
"The Desert Torso" by Kamila Shamsie
I've had the benefit of reading Kamila Shamsie's work before, which might have told me what to expect. For anyone not used to some mystical happenings in their books (read: normal South / SouthEast Asian literature) this could be a really difficult story, but I felt with it from start to finish and can recommend it for readers who have enjoyed Shamsie's books as well.
"Goodnight Children, Everywhere" by Beryl Bainbridge
Without wanting to appear rude, this felt to me like a story from someone that wanted to write a mystery but either had no experience or not enough room to do so. I only realized that something might be amiss something like two pages before the ending and therefore bored myself throughout the earlier parts of the story. The conclusion is not very satisfying either; all in all I think this should be made into a LONG book with DETAILED descriptions and a REAL ending. Because I appreciated the idea so much, the fact that the story didn't live up to its potential seemed a bit like waste.
"The Night Highway" by Louise Welsh
Well, this is the worst one so far. Describing a night out for some lecturers of a literary department, it follows characters who each deserve more than one kick somewhere where it really hurts instead of being written about in a story. Not much of a point to it, either; I actually don't know why I read this. I certainly hope that not all professors are like this, that would be a sad statement for education.
"Calculus" by Diran Adebayo
... So I've redecided. This one is the worst. Telling the story of two people at the start of their relationship from the female point of view, it sort of goes nowhere. I felt none of the admittantly small amount of actual feelings described; I was rather annoyed by the language and the writing style - granted, you talk that way if you've had a lot to drink, but that doesn't mean I want to read stories written like that. "He was nodding, head down, then considered me, and it was 'Eureka' time again, mild version. We met in between and it was just this great kiss." (p. 164)
Not my kind of story at all.
"Trouble in Paradise" by Helen Fielding
This story describes the life in a tourist area in the Caribbean that has seen the best of its days. There's a certain hopelessness to the entire tale, and in this it somehow provides a fitting end to this collection.
All in all, this is nowhere near as good as "Earth". The theme was never met, I shall not even discuss this point for the next two books I fear, but I felt that almost all stories were lacking something.
I can recommend "The Desert Torso" and "Vanish", but I would give no more than two stars to this collection were it not for "Suddenly Doctor Cox".
Links to my other reviews for this series: Earth, Fire, Water.
This review will make a note on every story on its own, and not focus on Oxfam's great work. Therefore, potential criticism also deals only with the story in question, not with anything else. (Just to make sure no one gets hurt or angry.)
"Air" by Vikram Seth
No review for this poem, because I am in love with Vikram Seth's poetry and in no way capable of writing an objective review ;).
"Still Life" by Alexander McCall Smith
This is an odd story, and the title fits perfectly. The Scottish countryside in which this story takes place is beautiful and yet so scarcely inhabited that nothing really happens. The characters' emotions seem to be rather subdued as well, leading to me being rather indifferent about the entire thing. I'm 100% sure that his book series about The Number One Ladies Detective Agency Volume 6 is more interesting, even if just for having better characters, but this is not a story that will stay with you for very long.
"The Tipping Point" by Helen Simpson
This story actually fits the theme a bit, what with the main character having recently broken up from his/her environment-protecting partner.
The sad ramblings are a bit hard to follow, and I kept wondering why the couple had broken up (or, even more interesting, why they had gotten together in the first place), but this too will not make it onto my list of favourite stories.
"Suddenly Doctor Cox" by DBC Pierre
Even though it took me quite a while to get into it, this might just be my favourite story in this book.
The character of Doctor Cox is fascinating throughout, and the descriptions of Trinidad from an outsider's point of view are beautiful, especially the introduction.
"Driving to work I saw the most beautiful roadkill. It was a carpet of iridescent butterflies, squashed but flashing on the highway, as if concrete had worn thin over a seam of priceless opal. Wings twitched and glinted in the heat, spurring that human compulsion to stop and urgently gather treasures." (p.43)
I could not have foreseen the ending, which made it stay with me all the more, and which lifted this story far above the other ones in this book.
"Vanish" by Al Kennedy
The story describes a man taking a leap back into life after a painful break-up by going to see a magician's show. While the characters and indeed the entire world remain oddly distant throughout, I was moved by the ending and felt a connection to this story that I cannot explain.
"The Desert Torso" by Kamila Shamsie
I've had the benefit of reading Kamila Shamsie's work before, which might have told me what to expect. For anyone not used to some mystical happenings in their books (read: normal South / SouthEast Asian literature) this could be a really difficult story, but I felt with it from start to finish and can recommend it for readers who have enjoyed Shamsie's books as well.
"Goodnight Children, Everywhere" by Beryl Bainbridge
Without wanting to appear rude, this felt to me like a story from someone that wanted to write a mystery but either had no experience or not enough room to do so. I only realized that something might be amiss something like two pages before the ending and therefore bored myself throughout the earlier parts of the story. The conclusion is not very satisfying either; all in all I think this should be made into a LONG book with DETAILED descriptions and a REAL ending. Because I appreciated the idea so much, the fact that the story didn't live up to its potential seemed a bit like waste.
"The Night Highway" by Louise Welsh
Well, this is the worst one so far. Describing a night out for some lecturers of a literary department, it follows characters who each deserve more than one kick somewhere where it really hurts instead of being written about in a story. Not much of a point to it, either; I actually don't know why I read this. I certainly hope that not all professors are like this, that would be a sad statement for education.
"Calculus" by Diran Adebayo
... So I've redecided. This one is the worst. Telling the story of two people at the start of their relationship from the female point of view, it sort of goes nowhere. I felt none of the admittantly small amount of actual feelings described; I was rather annoyed by the language and the writing style - granted, you talk that way if you've had a lot to drink, but that doesn't mean I want to read stories written like that. "He was nodding, head down, then considered me, and it was 'Eureka' time again, mild version. We met in between and it was just this great kiss." (p. 164)
Not my kind of story at all.
"Trouble in Paradise" by Helen Fielding
This story describes the life in a tourist area in the Caribbean that has seen the best of its days. There's a certain hopelessness to the entire tale, and in this it somehow provides a fitting end to this collection.
All in all, this is nowhere near as good as "Earth". The theme was never met, I shall not even discuss this point for the next two books I fear, but I felt that almost all stories were lacking something.
I can recommend "The Desert Torso" and "Vanish", but I would give no more than two stars to this collection were it not for "Suddenly Doctor Cox".
January 18, 2013
'Air' is an Ox-Tales book, created by Oxfam to raise funds for various world causes. These books (named Earth, Air, Fire & Water) include short stories by Irish- and English-based writers who have contributed their works for free. 'Air' is supposed to highlight issues about "action on climate change". In terms of what connects all of the stories, I'm at a bit of a loss. Climate change wasn't really a theme at all, but I guess change was... It seemed as though when I finished each of these stories, the meaning or plot disappeared into the air. That's the only loose comparison I can draw.
Included in this compilation are:
'Still Life' by Alexander McCall Smith
'The Tipping Point' by Helen Simpson
'Suddenly Dr Cox' by DBC Pierre
'Vanish' by AL Kennedy
'The Desert Torso' by Kamila Shamsie
'Goodnight Children, Everywhere' by Beryl Bainbridge
'The Night Highway' by Louise Welsh
'Calculus' by Diran Adebayo [I did not read this story due to the heavy dialect it was written in which I could not bear to continue with.]
'Trouble in Paradise' by Helen Fielding
My favourite of the selection (which I frankly found poor) were 'Suddenly Dr Cox', 'Goodnight Children, Everywhere', and 'Trouble in Paradise'.
'Suddenly Dr Cox' was about a guy who started working at an office in Trinidad and discovered that the janitor was strange, carrying around random papers in a briefcase, sleeping under the foundations of the office building, and ordering meals to be delivered in a fancy car. He befriends Cox and finds out that there was far more behind the image exterior than expected.
'Goodnight Children, Everywhere' is a story about a young boy who finds an old wireless radio in his grandmother's house, and proceeds to listen to a series of news reports, each night after school. It turns out that some of these events happened many years past in history, and some are yet to occur...
Lastly, 'Trouble in Paradise' is written by the author who wrote 'Bridget Jones' Diary'. I think Helen Fielding is an excellent observer of human nature and characteristics. The story follows quite a few little-known characters in a holiday resort in the Caribbean. Some are locals trying to survive on the tourism trade, and others are English and American guests trying to get away from it all. A really honest look at people and how they cope with situations.
Out of all the Ox-Tales books I've read (I have read Fire and Earth before), this was my least favourite. I only really enjoyed three of the stories, and most seemed to drag. It's unfortunate because they managed to gather a good host of authors. At least the £5 went to charity when the library bought this copy.
Included in this compilation are:
'Still Life' by Alexander McCall Smith
'The Tipping Point' by Helen Simpson
'Suddenly Dr Cox' by DBC Pierre
'Vanish' by AL Kennedy
'The Desert Torso' by Kamila Shamsie
'Goodnight Children, Everywhere' by Beryl Bainbridge
'The Night Highway' by Louise Welsh
'Calculus' by Diran Adebayo [I did not read this story due to the heavy dialect it was written in which I could not bear to continue with.]
'Trouble in Paradise' by Helen Fielding
My favourite of the selection (which I frankly found poor) were 'Suddenly Dr Cox', 'Goodnight Children, Everywhere', and 'Trouble in Paradise'.
'Suddenly Dr Cox' was about a guy who started working at an office in Trinidad and discovered that the janitor was strange, carrying around random papers in a briefcase, sleeping under the foundations of the office building, and ordering meals to be delivered in a fancy car. He befriends Cox and finds out that there was far more behind the image exterior than expected.
'Goodnight Children, Everywhere' is a story about a young boy who finds an old wireless radio in his grandmother's house, and proceeds to listen to a series of news reports, each night after school. It turns out that some of these events happened many years past in history, and some are yet to occur...
Lastly, 'Trouble in Paradise' is written by the author who wrote 'Bridget Jones' Diary'. I think Helen Fielding is an excellent observer of human nature and characteristics. The story follows quite a few little-known characters in a holiday resort in the Caribbean. Some are locals trying to survive on the tourism trade, and others are English and American guests trying to get away from it all. A really honest look at people and how they cope with situations.
Out of all the Ox-Tales books I've read (I have read Fire and Earth before), this was my least favourite. I only really enjoyed three of the stories, and most seemed to drag. It's unfortunate because they managed to gather a good host of authors. At least the £5 went to charity when the library bought this copy.
July 8, 2010
This was a bit of a strange bird to read and review. It has some good parts to it, but it has an incomplete feel that is a somewhat inevitable quality due to the way it was compiled.
Ox-Tales: Air is the second in a series of four books published by Oxfam, a high-end charity store that is involved with a wide range of projects. The other books are named Fire, Earth, and Water and each book loosely relates to a different element (see what they did there?) of Oxfam's mission. Air (supposedly) corresponds to their efforts on climate change. Each book in the series contains stories by famous writers that they donated for free. All of the royalties from the books go to the charity. It's a very noble effort and helps some worthy causes.
That said, I wish that there was a bit more of a payoff for those who do buy this book. There are 10 stories in here, 2-3 of which are good. AL Kennedy's story "Vanish," about a man who goes to see a magic show after a recent breakup, and "Goodnight Children, Everywhere" by the late great Beryl Bainbridge, a haunting story about a boy and his strange radio, were definitely the highlights here. Three of the "stories" are actually excerpts from thus-far unpublished novels. Those stories close out the book, giving that incomplete feeling I mentioned. To be fair Helen Fielding's selection from Trouble in Paradise, an unfinished novel about the staff and residents at a Carribean resort hotel, showed that the novel has a promising start, but didn't really go anywhere on its own. The remaining 7 stories were either bad, forgettable, or both.
If you went to public school in America there were probably times when you were supposed to go around door-to-door and try to sell stuff to raise money for the school. My parents never did this, preferring instead to just donate money straight to the school rather than go through a middle man and buy things they didn't need. This book reminds me of that. It's a 5 pound book that you don't need and won't read after the first time, so you're better off just donating the money straight to charity.
Ox-Tales: Air is the second in a series of four books published by Oxfam, a high-end charity store that is involved with a wide range of projects. The other books are named Fire, Earth, and Water and each book loosely relates to a different element (see what they did there?) of Oxfam's mission. Air (supposedly) corresponds to their efforts on climate change. Each book in the series contains stories by famous writers that they donated for free. All of the royalties from the books go to the charity. It's a very noble effort and helps some worthy causes.
That said, I wish that there was a bit more of a payoff for those who do buy this book. There are 10 stories in here, 2-3 of which are good. AL Kennedy's story "Vanish," about a man who goes to see a magic show after a recent breakup, and "Goodnight Children, Everywhere" by the late great Beryl Bainbridge, a haunting story about a boy and his strange radio, were definitely the highlights here. Three of the "stories" are actually excerpts from thus-far unpublished novels. Those stories close out the book, giving that incomplete feeling I mentioned. To be fair Helen Fielding's selection from Trouble in Paradise, an unfinished novel about the staff and residents at a Carribean resort hotel, showed that the novel has a promising start, but didn't really go anywhere on its own. The remaining 7 stories were either bad, forgettable, or both.
If you went to public school in America there were probably times when you were supposed to go around door-to-door and try to sell stuff to raise money for the school. My parents never did this, preferring instead to just donate money straight to the school rather than go through a middle man and buy things they didn't need. This book reminds me of that. It's a 5 pound book that you don't need and won't read after the first time, so you're better off just donating the money straight to charity.
January 27, 2012
A perfect little bag book, although the contents were perhaps not quite as engaging as I had hoped. Oxfam attracted a good clutch of writers to contribute to this volume in the Ox-Tales quartet and I found the brief notes, both about each writer and at the end about climate change and the poor some of the best bits. For instance, there was a comment from Helen Fielding on all the hooha about how shallow her Bridget Jones' Diary was, when she had already had a serious novel published about Sudan which didn't sell well. I also didn't know about the name DBC Pierre. Unsurprisingly the stories and excerpts were quite variable - they passed the time well but I doubt they will linger in my mind.
June 19, 2018
A mixed bag of short stories and extracts from upcoming novels writen by renowned authors such as Alexander McCall Smith and Helen Fielding. My personal highlights include "Suddenly Dr Cox" by DBC Pierre (author of Vernon God Little) and "The Desert Torso" by Kamila Shamsie (author of Burnt Shadows). At the back of the book is a short message from Oxfam, discussing their work with regards to climate change and the impact it is having in poverty-striken areas of the world, reminding you how purchasing the collection helped those less fortunate than yourself.
December 23, 2009
My second dip into the Ox-Tales collection and I didn't enjoy this as much as 'Air'. Perhaps because quite a few of these tales were extracts from novels in progress as opposed to self contained short stories. And they felt rather incomplete, as they would!
My favourite was the Alexander McCall Smith - which was a pleasant surprise as my previous encounter with him was very disappointing.
My favourite was the Alexander McCall Smith - which was a pleasant surprise as my previous encounter with him was very disappointing.
December 7, 2010
I've previously read and liked one of the other collections in this 4 book set (Fire) and had this sitting on my shelf for a wee while. I'm not as keen. I quite liked the story by DBC Pierre as quirky and nicely told plus the story of a boy and his death-declaring radio by Beryl Bainbridge was darkly comic and enjoyable. Otherwise they're a little patchy. It is for charity though...
April 11, 2014
The second the the series of short story books by Oxfam to highlight their work in certain areas, and air is climate change.
Again some of the stories did not appeal, but the three i particular liked were: Goodnight children, Everywhere by Beryl Bainbridge, The Night Highway by Louise Welsh and Suddenly Dr Cox by DBC Pierre
Again some of the stories did not appeal, but the three i particular liked were: Goodnight children, Everywhere by Beryl Bainbridge, The Night Highway by Louise Welsh and Suddenly Dr Cox by DBC Pierre
November 11, 2009
I picked this up at Shakespeare & Co, and it made for great vacay reading. The stories range from just ok to great, and I was happy to read a few authors I've heard a lot about but never actually picked up.
January 7, 2012
No stories really stood out for me in this collection, didn't feel as strong as the other three in the series. Still a nice read though. Mainly 2/5 and 4/5 ratings...hence average of 3. Was one good novel extract that I might hunt down the book for by Louise Welch.
May 7, 2013
Love these little books. Don't think I discovered any new gems or 'must-read' authors in this particular one but enjoyed most of the stories.
Now onto the next one - Earth and Air down, Fire or Water next??
Now onto the next one - Earth and Air down, Fire or Water next??
February 19, 2016
None of these short stories (and a couple of extracts from novels in progress) inspired, although the Louise Welsh extract may make me go and have a look at her novels. For me,the DBC Pierre short story was most enjoyable.
The collection is for a very worthy cause, Oxfam.
The collection is for a very worthy cause, Oxfam.
July 14, 2010
Would actually give it 3.5 as nearly as good as Earth. Includes the beginning of a novel which I will now go and buy from an author that I have up to now always passed by.
January 2, 2012
i liked the shorts of fielding and pierre, the rest didn't catch me
April 18, 2014
A mixed bag of short stories and excerpts from works in progress. Some I enjoyed, some I read but didn't pay too much attention to.
August 25, 2016
Other reviews have said it well
June 19, 2017
Barring the story by DBC Pierre, I didn't like any and they were all written by big name writers ...
May 20, 2020
Some of the stories are quite intriguing, however I thought that the theme of the shortstories is the air element. I am not quite sure if it is the theme or should have been the theme but If it is the theme rarely any short-story applied that theme. But that doesn't mean that the stories are quite interesting especially the ones which are either a work in progress of a novel or an extract from an actual published novel. While others of these shortstories are stand alone as a work of art I wanted more of them. I loved the characters and the writing style immensely.
April 17, 2020
Volume two in a series of four to benefit Oxfam. I purchased these solely due to Vikram Seth writing a poem for each one, and I am a Seth completist. Many of the stories contained here, by notable UK writers, are throwaway fragments of novels or otherwise unmemorable. BUT, there is a story by Beryl Bainbridge that is such a perfect, dark little gem that I will now be seeking out more of her works, and that's well worth a few days of reading forgettable stuff by others. Hooray!
September 27, 2020
This seemed an interesting way to me of discovering new writers and reading more stories from people who are already favourites. But then short stories aren't my preferred genre, so I can't say I loved it!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews