The High Places: Stories

Winner of the International Dylan Thomas Prize

"THERE IS IN THESE TALES A RECURRENT 'FEELING OF QUEASY ANTICIPATION, ' AS ONE OF MCFARLANE'S CHARACTERS OBSERVES, 'AS IF SOME TERRIBLE THING MIGHT HAPPEN AT ANY MOMENT.' . . . IT'S A MOOD YOU ASSOCIATE WITH FLANNERY O'CONNOR, EVIDENTLY ONE OF MCFARLANE'S INFLUENCES, AS WELL AS PATRICIA HIGHSMITH."--THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW (EDITORS' CHOICE)

Ranging from Australia to Greece, England to a Pacific island, the stories in Fiona McFarlane's story collection The High Places journey across continents, eras, and genres, charting the pivotal moments of people's lives. In "Mycenae," a middle-aged couple embarks on a disastrous vacation in the company of old friends. In "Good News for Modern Man," a scientist conducts research on a small, remote island, where he is haunted by a colossal squid and the ghost of Charles Darwin. And in the title story, an Australian farmer turns to Old Testament methods to relieve a fatal drought. All are confronted with events that make them see themselves and their lives from a fresh perspective--and what they do as a result is as unpredictable as life itself.

FIONA MCFARLANE received her MFA from the University of Texas at Austin, where she was a Michener Fellow. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, among many other publications, and her debut novel, The Night Guest, was the winner of the inaugural Voss Literary Prize and the Barbara Jefferis Award; it was also shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, the Prime Minister’s Literary Award, the Stella Prize, and the Miles Franklin Literary Award.