The One That Got Away

Set mostly in Cape Town and Glasgow, Zoë Wicomb’s new collection of short stories straddles dual worlds. An array of characters – drawn with extraordinary acuity – inhabit a complexly interconnected, twenty-first-century universe. Travelling between continents, they are as likely to find commonalities as they are to experience cultural collision. The fourteen stories in this collection, most previously unpublished, explore a range of human relationships: marriage, friendships, family ties and relations with servants. Wicomb’s fluid, shifting technique questions conventional certainties – and makes for exhilarating reading, full of ironic twists, ambiguitiesand moments of startling insight. Both playful and sophisticated, the stories touch on issues of representation in writing and visual art. Often, they elegantly undermine their own realism, leaving every situation open to the reader’s interpretation. Wicomb’s first collection of linked stories, You Can’t Get Lost in Cape Town, introduced her to an international audience. Long awaited, The One That Got Away showcases this established, award-winning author at the height of her powers.