What do you think?
Rate this book
Fryupdale
Porn stars and serial killers, Nazis and nymphomaniacs, hunchbacks and bare-knuckle just a few of the disparate cast of characters who call the remote moorland community of Fryupdale their home. These 18 short stories reveal the unflinching truths behind their lonely, sad and sometimes hilarious lives - and why the world beyond village limits will always seem so distant.
115 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 27, 2010
1 person is currently reading
7 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 12, 2016
At turns both tragic and comic (though usually somewhere in between), Fryupdale focuses on an insular English village and the lives of its villagers. Most of their conflicts seem to stem from a desire to escape, if not to the world outside, then into those afforded through sex, alcohol, and other vices. Often are we left with the impression that the grass isn’t any greener elsewhere – figuratively as well as literally, given the pastoral setting.
Frequent allusions to real or imagined incest and bestiality probably say less about the author’s fixations than certain realities encountered wherever most folks are some degree of kin and the livestock outnumber people. That the book is subtitled “Short Stories from Beyond the Village Limits” is ironically fitting, for while virtually none of the action takes place outside of Fryupdale, much of what happens there is either pushing the envelope of good taste or treading close to implausibility. What’s so remarkable about Fryupdale is that no matter how crude or far-fetched it becomes, the author is able to portray the characters and their experiences in a superbly humane and realistic light.
Taken separately, most of the tales work quite well on their own. Staniforth is adept at both showing and telling – skills equally necessary for authors working in shorter formats, where even the slightest suggestion is just as important as that which is explicitly stated. Where Fryupdale really shines, however, is the manner in which all 18 of its pieces come together. Short stories, bits of flash, a school writing assignment, and even an Internet chat all serve to reinforce each other with the appropriate narrative and thematic context, making the book into something much more than the sum of its parts.
Frequent allusions to real or imagined incest and bestiality probably say less about the author’s fixations than certain realities encountered wherever most folks are some degree of kin and the livestock outnumber people. That the book is subtitled “Short Stories from Beyond the Village Limits” is ironically fitting, for while virtually none of the action takes place outside of Fryupdale, much of what happens there is either pushing the envelope of good taste or treading close to implausibility. What’s so remarkable about Fryupdale is that no matter how crude or far-fetched it becomes, the author is able to portray the characters and their experiences in a superbly humane and realistic light.
Taken separately, most of the tales work quite well on their own. Staniforth is adept at both showing and telling – skills equally necessary for authors working in shorter formats, where even the slightest suggestion is just as important as that which is explicitly stated. Where Fryupdale really shines, however, is the manner in which all 18 of its pieces come together. Short stories, bits of flash, a school writing assignment, and even an Internet chat all serve to reinforce each other with the appropriate narrative and thematic context, making the book into something much more than the sum of its parts.
December 30, 2015
There is something unpleasant, like a cockroach thrashing its last in the deep fryer alongside your fish supper, about the stories I've read so far. In fact, I get the impression that the inhabitants of this (please be!) fictional English village (most likely twinned with the dread Plateau of Leng) would find watching such a luckless insect to be grand entertainment. And at least two would eat the thing without needing to be dared.
"The Parish News" evokes to me the memory of a poem studied at university; in one verse, everything is above board and fine; the next - a writhing chitinous mass of madness fuelled by despair, ignorance and boredom. Most of the stories I have read so far are mired in the bugs, without a comforting ray of humanity to be seen. As such, I would probably place this collection of stories under "Horror". Mark's blunt, straightforward, almost childish prose manages to instil a Lovecraftian cosmic dread in me.
I may never finish this book. I keep wanting to sterilise my phone (which has the ebook reader on it) and scrub my hands with a wire brush.
"The Parish News" evokes to me the memory of a poem studied at university; in one verse, everything is above board and fine; the next - a writhing chitinous mass of madness fuelled by despair, ignorance and boredom. Most of the stories I have read so far are mired in the bugs, without a comforting ray of humanity to be seen. As such, I would probably place this collection of stories under "Horror". Mark's blunt, straightforward, almost childish prose manages to instil a Lovecraftian cosmic dread in me.
I may never finish this book. I keep wanting to sterilise my phone (which has the ebook reader on it) and scrub my hands with a wire brush.
August 12, 2011
This book is a collection of short stories that take place in the British town of Fryupdale. Fryupdale is a backwater town with not much going for it. If the residents were asked about fun activities for the kids, the response would likely be drinking, sex and huffing glue. The stories have some overlap and to be honest the characters probably show up more between the stories than I realize. Unfortunately, I didn't keep track of names or events as closely as I should have since I thought all the stories would be unrelated. This book would have been excellent if all the stories were related and came back together to unify the book (similar to the Nine Lives chapter).
August 4, 2011
a rough and tumble guide to the denizens of Fryupdale. highlights: to boldly go, a tale of love, lust and UFO's. loonies: a school assignment that fits all the criteria.
I really liked this book, worth the $0 cover price. I would even consider paying the $2.99 amazon asks for it.
I really liked this book, worth the $0 cover price. I would even consider paying the $2.99 amazon asks for it.
October 31, 2010
Yeah, it's amazing. I would say that. I'm the author.
It's free now, incidentally, at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...
Reviews - good, bad, indifferent - much welcomed!
It's free now, incidentally, at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...
Reviews - good, bad, indifferent - much welcomed!
February 25, 2011
Some things were fun, but it's not my cup of tea.
September 1, 2013
What a quirky bunch of misfits lol Good reading, liked how all the stories intertwined with one another.
May 15, 2014
...weird.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews