On the Yankee Station: Stories (Vintage International)

Wiliam Boyd winner of the Whitbread and Somerset Maugham Awards introduces unlikely heroes desperate to redeem their unsatisfying lives.. From California poolsides to the battlegrounds of Vietnam here is a world populated by weary souls who turn to fantasy as their sole escape from lifes inequities. Stranded in an African hotel during a coup an oafish Englishman impresses a young stewardess with stories of an enchanted life completely at odds with his sordid existence in The Coup. In the title story an arrogant sadistic American pilot in Vietnam underestimaets the power of revenge when he relentlessly persecutes a member of his maintenance crew. With droll humor and rare compassion Boyds enthralling stories remind us of his stature as one of contemporary fictions finest storytellers.