Cockfosters
Helen Simpson. Knopf, $23.95 (192p) ISBN 978-0-451-49307-1
Cockfosters is the name of a station on the Piccadilly Line of the London Underground. In the titular story of this playful collection, a trip to that station to recover a pair of lost eyeglasses is a MacGuffin for two friends sharing family news and commiserating on the indignities of aging. In “Kentish Town,” the choice of The Chimes over A Christmas Carol for a public reading leads to a shaggy but interesting discussion between three book group ladies about the Dickensian era and the author himself. “Kythera” is built around a recipe for something called “lemon drizzle”: a mother faithfully follows instructions, drifting into a reverie about other memorable dishes and her sometimes prickly relationship with her daughter. The affecting “Cheapside” tracks the unusual friendship between a middle-aged man and an aimless teenager. “Arizona” takes a cheeky look at health declining due to age. The most substantial of the nine stories is the novella-length “Berlin,” following a group of British tourists in that city. Descriptions of attractions are woven in with bits of conversation and flashbacks involving a couple whose relationship is in turmoil. This is a loose and entertaining collection. (June)
Details
Reviewed on: 04/24/2017
Genre: Fiction
Hardcover - 112 pages - 978-1-910702-20-8
Paperback - 192 pages - 978-0-525-56362-4
Paperback - 160 pages - 978-1-78470-198-7