THE WHEEL AND OTHER STORIES

A widower entombs the voice of his dead wife in an antique walking stick &ndash, but will it be enough to silence her? When the life of a vulnerable woman is struck by calamity, nemesis looms for a would-be lothario at the local veterinary surgery , &ndash, can anyone emerge unscathed from the aftershock? In rural West Wales, a farmer&rsquo,s wife develops a disturbing infatuation with a derelict parsonage, which seems somehow connected to the fates of her unborn children. Crossing boundaries of period (the Welsh valleys of the 1940s via a post war East End to the present day), and exploring a range of style and mood from black comedy to domestic tragedy, &lsquo,The Wheel&rsquo, embraces reflections on the nature of loss, the haunting burden of childhood trauma and much more besides. If you enjoy variety in a short story volume, this book is for you. ,The Amber Walking StickA provocative communication from his dead wife throws a smug widower&rsquo,s life into turmoil.Jesse&rsquo,s RoomAmid a bullying atmosphere of tension in a nursing home, ,the intuitive connection between ,a bereaved nurse and ,her dying patient has unforeseen consequences.The ParsonageFascination with a ruined parsonage turns to dangerous obsession for a woman struggling with a new life in rural Wales.LilianA diamond eternity ring becomes a symbol of unspoken need and trust between a char woman and her unhappy employer in the East End of the 1950s.OverflowA man in the grip of bereavement finds that the natural world not only offers solace but threatens to overwhelm him in this study in miniature of the pain of grief.The WheelCan an act of childhood cruelty which has shaped the life of a successful academic be finally laid to rest?T