Dark Roots

In these sublimely sophisticated tales, Cate Kennedy opens up worlds of finely observed detail. Her stories are populated by people at tipping points in their lives — moments that find them poised between a familiar past and an unfamiliar future. "These are precisely observed pieces, deserving of a wide audience." - The GuardianIn ‘The Testosterone Club’, a neglected wife plans an act of unsavoury revenge on her boorish husband. In ‘Resize’, a married couple realise their too-tight wedding rings may symbolise wider aspects of their relationship. And in ‘Cold Snap’, a young boy senses that the newly arrived tree changer may have some sinister intents. Heartbreaking, evocative and richly comic, Dark Roots unveils the traumas that incite us to desperate measures and the coincidences that drive our lives. "Stunning ... Each story picks you up, takes you out of your life and smack bang into the middle of another place and time where the troubles and joys are laid bare and stripped back to their essence with incredibly spare and gifted writing. This collection is a joy to read..." - The Sunday Age SHORTLISTED FOR 2007 PREMIER'S QUEENSLAND LITERARY AWARDS: AUSTRALIAN SHORT STORY COLLECTION OPRAH MAGAZINE 'NEW VOICE OF THE MONTH' In these sublimely sophisticated tales, Cate Kennedy opens up worlds of finely observed detail. Her stories are populated by people at tipping points in their lives — moments that find them poised between a familiar past and an unfamiliar future. In 'The Testosterone Club', a neglected wife plans an unsavoury revenge on her boorish husband. In 'Resize', a married couple realise their too-tight wedding rings may symbolise wider aspects of their relationship. And in 'Cold Snap', a young boy senses that the newly arrived tree changer may have some sinister intents. Heartbreaking, evocative and richly comic, Dark Roots unveils the traumas that incite us to desperate measures, and the coincidences that drive our lives. PRAISE FOR CATE KENNEDY 'stunning ... Each story picks you up, takes you out of your life and smack bang into the middle of another place and time where the troubles and joys are laid bare and stripped back to their essence with incredibly spare and gifted writing. This collection is a joy to read...' The Sunday Age 'These are precisely observed pieces, deserving of a wide audience.' The Guardian In these sublimely sophisticated tales, Cate Kennedy opens up worlds of finely observed detail. Her stories are populated by people at tipping points in their lives: moments that find them poised between a familiar past and an unfamiliar future. A cancer sufferer boards a plane with three kilos of cocaine in her luggage; a neglected wife plans an unsavoury revenge on her boorish husband; a married couple realise their too-tight wedding rings may symbolise wider aspects of their relationship. Heartbreaking, evocative and richly comic, Dark Roots unveils the traumas that incite us to desperate measures, and the coincidences that drive our lives This collection of prize-winning short stories opens up worlds of small, finely observed detail, which resonate in the reader's mind long after the story is finished. From the awkward strain of dissolving relationships to the revealing vagaries of chance occurrences upon ordinary people, the voices that inhabit these worlds speak eloquently of the hidden motivations that propel us all to act. Often without realising it, these characters hold in their hands both the consequences of small decisions and, sometimes, the power of life and death Stories of people on the brink: a woman floundering with loss as her lover lies in a coma; a neglected wife plans revenge on her boorish husband; a married couple who realise their too-tight wedding rings aren't the only things that's stuck in their relationship; a cancer patient carries three kilos of cocaine onto a plane. Each character must make a choice and each choice has consequences - even the smallest decision may destroy or renew, recover or relinquish