Pianos and flowers : brief encounters of the romantic kind / Alexander McCall Smith.
"In Pianos and Flowers we are invited, through the medium of sepia images, to glimpse a world long departed. In these stories, inspired by long-lost photographs, the lives of the people in the frame are imagined and then explored, layer by layer. What must it have been like to be them? We hold our breath for them. Our heart beats faster for them. We look again at the photograph in a new light, and say Yes, it might have happened just like that. This journey of exploration takes us to some exotic places. We share the lives of three sisters, brought up in Penang. We read of what happened to them, and to their Chinese neighbors caught in the tides of war. We see a group of small boys in a Glasgow slum, their young lives stunted by poverty, and hear how life worked out in contrasting ways for them. We follow a young woman's search for love in the unlikely realm of Egyptian antiquities. And through all of these photographs, and all of these stories, there runs the same refrain: the possibilities of love, of friendship, of happiness lie before us. There are big stories in these simple pictures. At first glance the photographs may seem unexceptional: the mere freezing of a moment in time. But delve deeper and you will realize that these photographs speak volumes"-- Provided by publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780593315750
- ISBN: 0593315758
- Physical Description: ix, 179 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
- Edition: First United States edition.
- Publisher: New York : Pantheon Books, [2020]
- Copyright: ©2019
Content descriptions
General Note: | "Originally published in Great Britain by Polygon, an imprint of Birlinn Ltd, Edinburgh in 2019"--Title page verso. |
Formatted Contents Note: | Pianos and flowers -- I'd cry buckets -- Sphinx -- Maternal designs -- The dwarf tale-teller of the Romanian Rom -- Duty -- Iron jelloids -- Students -- Zeugma -- Urchins -- St. John's wort -- Blackmail -- Pogo sticks and man with bicycle -- La plage. |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Antiquities > Egyptian > Fiction. London (England) > Fiction. Love > Fiction. England > London. |
Genre: | Short stories, England. Fiction. Short stories. Romance fiction. |
Available copies
Holds
- 0 current holds with 2 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bronson Branch | FIC MCC (Text) | 35403424170145 | Fiction | Available | - |
Coldwater Branch | FIC MCC (Text) | 35401425178919 | Fiction | Available | - |
Pianos and Flowers : Brief Encounters of the Romantic Kind
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Summary
Pianos and Flowers : Brief Encounters of the Romantic Kind
A delightful collection of stories and photographs from the best-selling author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, imagining the lives and loves of everyday people in the twentieth century Pictures capture moments in time, presenting the viewer with a window into another life. But a picture can go only so far. Who are the people in the image? What are their fears? What are their dreams? The fourteen captivating tales in this collection are all inspired by photos from the Times of London archive. A young woman finds unexpected love while perusing Egyptian antiquities. A family is forever fractured when war comes to Penang, in colonial Malaysia. Iron Jelloid tablets help to reveal a young man's inner strength. And twin sisters discover that it's never too late to forge a new path--even when standing at the altar. There are big stories behind these simple images. Though at first glance they may appear to represent small moments, these photographs in fact speak volumes, uncovering possibilities of love, friendship, and happiness. With his indomitable charm, Alexander McCall Smith takes us behind the lens to explore the hidden lives of those photographed; in so doing, he reveals the humanity in us all.