Will Self Books

He's like Banksy -- but not as big...They're Not Pets, Susan,' says a stern father who has just shot a bumblebee, its wings sparkling in the evening sunlight; a lone office worker, less than an inch high, looks out over the river in his lunch break, 'Dreaming of Packing it all In'; and a tiny couple share a 'Last Kiss' against the soft neon lights of the city at midnight. Mixing sharp humour with a delicious edge of melancholy, Little People in the City brings together the collected photographs of Slinkachu, a street-artist who for several years has been leaving little hand-painted people in the bustling city to fend for themselves, waiting to be discovered. . . 'Oddly enough, even when you know they are just hand-painted figurines, you can't help but feel that their plights convey something of our own fears about being lost and vulnerable in a big, bad city.' The Times

This collection features a diverse array of poetry and fiction, showcasing the author's mastery of language and themes. The poetry section includes works such as "O, Tempora! O, Mores!" and "To Helen," exploring emotions and existential musings. Notable pieces like "The Raven" and "Annabel Lee" delve into love, loss, and the supernatural, while "The Conqueror Worm" and "Dream-land" reflect on mortality and dreams. In the fiction segment, the author presents captivating stories like "Metzengerstein" and "The Fall of the House of Usher," blending horror and psychological depth. Other tales, such as "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and "The Tell-Tale Heart," exemplify the author's pioneering contributions to the mystery and detective genres. The collection also includes whimsical narratives like "The Duc De L'Omelette" and thought-provoking fables such as "Silence: A Fable." Throughout, the author explores themes of identity, reality, and the human condition, employing a rich tapestry of characters and settings. The interplay of poetry and prose invites readers to reflect on the complexities of life, making this a compelling anthology for lovers of literature.

From the Booker-shortlisted author of Umbrella, a world-girdling collection of writings inspired by a life lived in and for literature.

How far would you go to escape the real world? The underground man had always felt like an outsider. He doesn't want to be like other people, working in the 'ant-hill' of society. So he decides to withdraw from the world, scrawling a series of darkly sarcastic notes about the torment he is suffering. Angry and alienated, his only comfort is the humiliation of others. Is he going mad? Or is it the world around him that's insane?

Shark turns upon an actual incident in WWII - mentioned in the film Jaws - when the ship which had delivered the fissile material to the south Pacific to be dropped on Hiroshima was subsequently sunk by a Japanese submarine with the loss of 900 men, including 200 killed in the largest shark attack ever recorded.

Nine new stories from the fiendishly witty Will Self, whose limitless imagination and technical brilliance have made him one of the most highly praised comic writers. Already published to critical acclaim in England, Grey Area is a dazzling collection by one of the most talented and original writers of his generation.

Opening with a dazzling new essay on walking to New York from Heathrow, this stunningly produced book brings together for the first time, fifty of Will Self's unforgettable Independent Columns

In this short story collection, we learn, amongst other things, the dark and terrible secret of Ward 9, why you're right to think that London is full of dead people and that each and every human being is caught up in a colossal balancing act between the sane and the insane.

A five-hundred-quid worry bead - and all I worry about is losing the bloody thing . . . ' Dementia-addled, 78-year-old antipsychiatrist Dr Zack Busner, turfed out of his home by his ungrateful progeny, is no longer certain of anything - except the persistent ringing of the phone in his pocket. Meanwhile, his autistic grandson Ben, drowning in conspiracy theories as he investigates the ruse known as the Iraq war, is urgently calling. Elsewhere, MI6 agent Jonathan De'Ath (aka the Butcher) is trying to conceal the one secret he knows will ruin him - his affair with tank commander Colonel Gawain Thomas, whose unit is busy shooting up Iraq. And somewhere a phone is ringing . . .

Some people lose their sense of proportion, others their sense of scale, but Simon Dykes, a middle-aged, successful London painter, has lost his sense of perspective in a most disturbing fashion. After a night of routine, pedestrian dabauchery, traipsing from toilet to toilet, and imbibing a host of narcotics on the way, Simon wakes up cuddled in his girlfriend's loving arms. Much to his dismay, however, his girlfriend has turned into a chimpanzee. To add insult to injury, the psychiatric crash team sent to deal with him as he flips his lid is also comprised of chimps. Indeed, the entire city is overrun by clever primates, who, when they are not jostling for position, grooming themselves, or mating some of the females, can be found driving Volvos, hanging out on street corners, and running the world. Nonetheless convinced that he is still a human, Simon is confined to the emergency psychiatric ward of Charing Cross Hospital, where he becomes the patient of Dr. Zack Busner, clinical psychologist, medical doctor, anti-psychiatrist, and former television personality -- an expert at the height of his reign as alpha male. As Busner attempts to convince him that 'everyone who is fully sentient in this world are chimpanzees, ' Simon struggles with the horrifying delusion that he is really a human trapped in a chimp's body.