Astral Bodies (Salt Modern Fiction)

In this long-awaited debut volume, Jay Merill brings together her poignant stories of everyday life. Merill's narratives are charged with restless energy, her characters seek to come to terms with disappointment, ambivalence and compulsion. Merill's stories explore themes of transcendence, change and escape, often at odds with a fast-changing, indifferent world. In 'Beacon' Tilly lights candles on her dead plant to show the way to a better future. In 'WatchTower', Clara copes with her life by imagining she is a character in a play. Jay Merill's distinctive writing captures every nuance of the tiny moments that transform us.