The Ghost Who Bled

Overview

A simple act of gallantry in the Malaysian jungle spawns a lifelong feud in the Home Counties... A fading actor with a terminal illness devises a meticulous plan to leave the stage in style...A pregnant composer contemplates motherhood at the end of civilisation...  Spanning centuries and continents, the stories in this collection amount to a tour de force of literary worldbuilding. From deeply insecure time travellers to medieval mystics and futuristic body modification cults, Norminton's characters find themselves torn between conflicting impulses – temptation and fortitude, hubris and shame, longing and regret. By turns sad, strange and darkly comic, The Ghost Who Bled reveals a master storyteller of incredible range.

Reviews

"Witty, intelligent, crunchily written, Norminton's collection is pure reading pleasure." —Neel Mukherjee, Booker shortlisted author, The Lives of Others

"Gregory Norminton's tautly written, mordant short stories make the reader sit up and think. Startlingly original imagery and that rare thing, moral and political bite." —Maggie Gee, author, The White Family and My Cleaner

"All the doors of the imagination are open to Gregory Norminton; this collection roves magnificently from one side of the world to the other, bringing together people and their predicaments as only its author can. Read it and be transported, too." —Michael Caine, Times Literary Supplement

Author Biography

Gregory Norminton's novels include The Ship of Fools (2002), Arts and Wonders (2004), Ghost Portrait (2005) and Serious Things (2008), all published by Sceptre. Other books include The Lost Art of Losing (2012), Thumbnails (2013) and Beacons: Stories for Our Not So Distant Future (editor, 2013). His stories have appeared on BBC Radio 4, and in Prospect, Resurgence, London Magazine and The Lonely Crowd. He teaches Creative Writing and English at Manchester Metropolitan University.