Many People Die Like You Lina Wolff Translated from the Swedish by Saskia Vogel Published by And Other Stories, 4 August 2020
This short story collection is Lina Wolff’s third book published in English by And Other Stories, following Bret Easton Ellis and the Other Dogs and The Polyglot Lovers, though it was the first of the three that she wrote. Wolff’s dark sense of humour and penchant for the surreal lend themselves brilliantly to the short story form.
It is a credit to Saskia Vogel (and Frank Perry, translator of Bret Easton Ellis and the Other Dogs which I read a few years ago) that the style is so instantly recognisable as Wolff’s; the way she plays with perspective, invites you to question everything, mistrust characters and consider what is really being said.
Wolff uses her characters to poke around in the shadowy recesses of the human mind, unearthing the desire, shame, selfishness and curiosity lurking in the everyday and how these can lead to bizarre situations, which are often comical despite the suffering involved. All the while questioning societal norms and examining gender roles in particular.
Another interesting facet of Wolff’s work, looking at it in the context of international and translated literature, is that many of the stories are set in Spain, where Wolff lived for a number of years. In some of these we encounter issues of cultural and linguistic differences, adding an extra international feel to the book.
Short stories are difficult to do well – really well, that is – and all collections will have some pieces that we engage with more than others, some that will strike a deep chord with us and others that will fall somewhat flat. This will always be subjective, of course, but for me, Lina Wolff’s collection certainly has more hits than misses and a good few that make wonderful use of the form. I’m wary of giving any spoilers, but the endings of ‘No Man’s Land’, ‘Many People Die Like You’ and ‘Year of the Pig’ are brilliant, while very different.
‘No Man’s Land’, an encounter between a woman and a private detective who informs her on her unfaithful husband, is reminiscent of Bret Easton Ellis and the Other Dogs in the way it keeps you one your toes and how the end changes your perspective on the whole story. In ‘Many People Die Like You’, the tale of a university teacher seeking a new extramarital affair, the main character is dealt a surprise that takes the reader aback as much as it does him. Meanwhile, in ‘Year of the Pig’, a woman decides she wants to become a miracle worker, with unexpected results.
Two more of the strongest stories are ‘Misery Porn’, in which the narrator is told that his being a chef is embarrassing when he could make more money with a webcam sex show, and ‘A Chronicle of Fidelity Unforetold’, which sets out as being ostensibly about a woman contemplating infidelity but is really about the various toxic failings of all the men in her life.
Other situations encountered in this book include the reaction when a man has an affair with an older woman, a girl who tells a guidance counsellor she wants to work in sex when she grows up, a man who knowingly befriends his wife’s lover and an awkward incident caused by a nameplate.
Released in time to add it to your #WITMonth pile, this short story collection will intrigue, challenge and above all entertain. It also reaffirms my already very high opinion of Lina Wolff.
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