Description
In his sharply crafted, unnerving first collection of speculative fiction shorts, Courttia Newland envisages an alternate future as lived by the African diaspora.
Robots used as human proxies in a war become driven by all-too-human desires; Kill Parties roam the streets of a post-apocalyptic world; a matriarchal race of mer creatures depends on inter-breeding with mortals to survive; mysterious seeds appear in cities across the world, growing into the likeness of people in their vicinity.
Through transfigured bodies and impossible encounters, Newland brings a sharp, fresh eye to age-old themes of the human capacity for greed, ambition and self-destruction, but ultimately of our strength and resilience.
About the Author
Courttia Newland is the author of eight books including his much-lauded debut, The Scholar. His most recent novel, A River Called Time, was longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize. He coedited The Penguin Book of New Black Writing in Britain, and his short stories have featured in various anthologies and been broadcast on BBC Radio 4. As a screenwriter, he has written episodes of Steve McQueen's 2020 BBC series Small Axe.
@courttianewland
Reviews
Imaginative, precise and always fun. Courttia Newland invites us into new worlds with deftness and imagination, storytelling and creativity that has no rival in the UK. Another future classic from one of the most important writers of British literature -- DEREK OWUSU
Newland's work is tender but urgent, grounded but visionary. Risks don't frighten him. These highly imaginative, often cautionary tales seem the product of a world governed by outrage, anxiety and unease. You won't forget them in a hurry. Nor should you -- RUPERT THOMSON
A rich, diverse collection of short stories * * Guardian * *
An extraordinary collection - vital, strange and brilliant -- JENNI FAGAN
Deeply satisfying . . . Newland is a class act * * Times * *
Whether it's the uncanny dream made flesh or the old Manichean battle far into the future, these stories surprise, are dizzying and intricate * * Irish Times * *
The stories in Cosmogramma are shot through with a sense of foreboding, a feeling that we as a species are heading for self-annihilation if we don't get our act together and fast. In that sense, and in several others, the stories feel unsettlingly contemporary and can - and should - be read as a last call to action. "The Sanofka Principle" in particular bent my mind out of shape, in a good way. Now there's a story that requires (and repays) close reading! -- STEPHEN THOMPSON
It's no small feat to so immediately and repeatedly appeal to readers' hearts and minds, and Newland's mastery of short-format storytelling is sure to impress. Speculative fiction fans won't be able to put this down * * Publishers Weekly (starred review) * *
An exquisitely imaginative collection of speculative short stories, unlike anything I've ever read . . . Newland succeeds in capturing the reader's attention and refusing to let go of it until the very end . . . an important addition to Black British literature . . . Newland becomes a paramount figure within the genre * * Bad Form * *
The combination of excellent world and character building and the rising intensity of each story as the book progresses means Cosmogramma is hard to put down * * New Scientist * *
Book Information
ISBN 9781786897091
Author Courttia Newland
Format Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint Canongate Books
Publisher Canongate Books
Weight(grams) 313g
Dimensions(mm) 214mm * 135mm * 23mm
Details
Imprint: |
Canongate Books |
