The Pre-War House and Other Stories

A brooding uncle takes an au pair’s passport. Years of tension between a father and a son erupt with violent consequences. A man disappears along a lonely mail route . . . and it has happened before. From the Man Booker-shortlisted author of The Lighthouse comes this uncanny collection of short fiction about the unhomeliness of home: Fractured families, domestic claustrophobia, and the unseen menace of the everyday. With the same emotional tension and tightly controlled prose that garnered her first novel such accolades, Moore once again shines a light into the darkest corners of the human heart, moving deftly from flash fiction to novella, from insightful realism to chilling gothic horror.

Minneapolis Star Tribune

“I envy Moore's talent ... it was impossible to stay away long.”

Kirkus Reviews

“[There's] a quiet sense of sadness that dogs these characters. As they navigate their lives, Moore slowly unearths their essential fears, regrets, and unmet desires, producing a subdued and beautiful feeling of yearning that leaves the reader ruminating long after the final page. A masterful collection.”

Booklist

“These stories possess an eerie stillness...Moore is a master of saying much with few words...The titular, final story seamlessly weaves together memory and family history. A few stories qualify as flash fiction, so readers might start there--and that should be all it takes to get hooked. They'll also be intrigued by the stories' endings, which all come with a little hitch. Although theses are not happy tales, they are satisfying reads. Moore is the real deal.”

Winnipeg Free Press

“Delightfully creepy and gut-wrenching.”

Arkansas International

“The Pre-War House and Other Stories ... is threaded by a sense of unease that speaks to the uncertainty of life’s calm patterns. Often Moore’s stories upend suddenly by a danger like the steady tow of an undercurrent ... Moore’s writing is surprising and exact and culminates in the title story, the novella which brings the collection to a powerful crescendo.”

The Guardian

“Just as uncompromising and unsettling as The Lighthouse.”

Metro

“Beautifully crafted, rendered in a lean, pared-down style that accentuates the stark content.”

The Times Literary Supplement

“The tales collected in The Pre-War House... pick at psychological scabs in a register both wistful and brutal.”

The Daily Mail

“There is an insistent, rhythmic quality to Moore’s writing, and a dark imagination at work.”

From the Back Cover

A brooding uncle takes an au pair’s passport. Years of tension between a father and a son erupt with violent consequences. A man disappears along a lonely mail route . . . and it has happened before. From the Man Booker-shortlisted author of The Lighthouse comes this uncanny collection of short fiction about the unhomeliness of home: Fractured families, domestic claustrophobia, and the unseen menace of the everyday. With the same emotional tension and tightly controlled prose that garnered her first novel such accolades, Moore once again shines a light into the darkest corners of the human heart, moving deftly from flash fiction to novella, from insightful realism to chilling gothic horror.

About the Author

Alison Moore's first novel, The Lighthouse, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Awards, winning the McKitterick Prize. Both The Lighthouse and her second novel, He Wants (Biblioasis, 2016), were Observer Books of the Year. Her most recent novel is Death and the Seaside (forthcoming from Biblioasis). Her short fiction has been included in Best British Short Stories and Best British Horror anthologies and broadcast on BBC Radio. The title story of her debut collection, The Pre-War House and Other Stories, won a novella prize. Her first children's book, Sunny and the Ghosts, will be published in the UK in 2018.

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