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Faber Stories, a landmark series of individual volumes, presents masters of the short story form at work in a range of genres and styles.
An unnamed protagonist is on holiday with her new, much-married lover, in the company of the monstrously rich.
'How long would she last? It would be uppermost in all their minds.'
Each day, while the others are out at sea, she is taught to swim. Eventually, she will be expected to perform. The pressure mounts; it is only a matter of time before she snaps.
Edna O'Brien crafts a quietly horrifying scene of eroticism and insecurity, and makes one woman's near-fatal discomfort stand for society's larger trap.
Edna O'Brien
Edna O'Brien (1930-2024) was the author of more than twenty-five works of fiction, including The Country Girls, The Little Red Chairs, and The Light of Evening. She received numerous awards, including the PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature, the Irish PEN Award for Literature, the National Arts Club Medal of Honor, and the Ulysses Medal. Born and raised in the west of Ireland, she lived in London for many years.
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