Twelve Post-War Tales

Graham Swift

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Hardback

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English

Scribblers
01 May 2025

Fiction & Literature; Classic fiction (pre c 1945); Short stories

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The remarkable new work of fiction from the Booker Prize-winning author of Last Orders, Wasteland, Here We Are and Mothering Sunday

In the aftermath of the Second World War Private Joseph Caan, a young Jewish soldier stationed in Germany, seeks the truth about lost family members; in the 1960s a father focuses on his daughter’s wedding even as the Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink of disaster; in 2001, while planes fly into the Twin Towers, a maid working for US Embassy staff in London wonders if her birth on the day of the Kennedy assassination shaped her life; and at the height of a pandemic lockdown, Dr. Cole, a retired specialist in respiratory disease, returns to work and recalls a formative childhood encounter with illness and much more. These are just a few of the challenged characters we meet in Graham Swift’s Twelve Post-war Tales.

Tender, humane, funny and moving, Swift’s latest work of fiction displays his quietly commanding ability to set the personal and the ordinary against the harsh sweep of history. It is an outstanding achievement, confirming his status as one of the great, most subtle voices of our age.

Praise for Swift's most recent novel, Here We Are

'A magical piece of writing: the work of a novelist on scintillating form.' The Guardian

‘Here We Are smuggles within the pages of a seemingly commonplace tale depths of emotion and narrative complexity that take the breath away.’ The Observer

‘The book’s power comes precisely from the fact that it performs its magic in front of your eyes, leaving nowhere to hide ... you wonder how he does it.’ Financial Times

By: Graham Swift
Imprint: Scribblers
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 135mm,
ISBN: 9781761429088
ISBN 10: 1761429086
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 01 May 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Graham Swift was born in 1949. He is the author of eleven novels, three collections of short stories including the highly praised England and Other Stories and of Making an Elephant, a book of essays, portraits, poetry and reflections on his life in writing. With Waterland he won the Guardian Fiction Prize and with Last Orders the Booker Prize. Mothering Sunday became a worldwide bestseller and won the Hawthornden Prize for best work of imaginative literature. All three novels were made into films. His latest novel, Here We Are, was internationally acclaimed. His work has appeared in over thirty-five languages.

Reviews for Twelve Post-War Tales

‘In Swift’s touching, deeply humane stories, life leaves its mark in mysterious and sometimes-humorous ways. His gift for capturing in revealing detail the interior lives of people coping – or failing to cope – with disappointment gives each of these stories a rare depth. A brilliant, illuminating collection of short fiction, perhaps the author's best.’ * Kirkus starred review * ‘These stories, depth charges of love, anguish, resentment, each in their way relating to the effects of WW2, are so good. Swift at his best – and he’s on top form here – has the humanity and wry humour of William Trevor.’ -- Patrick Gale