Mothers

SHORTLISTED FOR THE EDGE HILL SHORT STORY PRIZE 2019

LONGLISTED FOR THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE 2019

LONGLISTED FOR THE EDGE HILL SHORT STORY PRIZE 2019

'To read

Mothers is to take a journey through a landscape familiar enough to console, yet strange enough to unsettle. The thrills and dangers of such a journey lie with the unexpectedness of life's undercurrents and our uncertain, unknowable selves. Chris Power's quiet yet compelling touch is reminiscent of Alice Munro and Peter Stamm.'

– Yiyun Li, author of

A Thousand Years of Good Prayers and

The Vagrants

Chris Power's stories are peopled by men and women who find themselves at crossroads or dead ends – at ancient Swedish burial sites, river crossings on Exmoor, and raucous Mexican weddings. A stand-up with writer's block embarks upon his last gig as a Rodney Dangerfield impersonator. Reflecting on a childhood holiday, a father is faced with the limit to which he can keep his daughters safe. These characters search without knowing what they seek.

At the heart of this work is Eva, whom we meet in childhood, locked in an enigmatic relationship with her mother; as a woman stumbling from youth into middle age; and in later life as the mother to a daughter of her own. Each story lays bare the emotional and psychic damage of life, love and abandonment.