Good Clean Fun - Softcover

'The diverse, urbane stories here are good, some of them are fun, and others are far from clean, depicting frightening excursions into dangerous territory. Whether delivering a witty one-liner, exposing the loneliness in a relationship, writing tenderly or with bleak honesty, or, terrifyingly, conjuring up secret desire manifest in brutal human form, Arditti brings to the smaller canvas all the insights, layers of meaning and breadth of vision which distinguish his longer prose'-- Shena Mackay 'These witheringly funny, painfully acute stories ... simply and elegantly break your heart'--Amanda Craig, Literary Review 'A simply outstanding collection ... Elegant, tender, full of wit and insight' City Life, Manchester 'His characters seduce us with nothing more than the ordinariness of their lives' TLS 'By turns humorous, moving and profound, Arditti has the ability to paint vivid and engaging pictures' Emmanuel Cooper, Tribune 'Assured in tone ... this moving work rings true' Richard Canning, Independent 'Arditti's darker world view will have you coming back for more' Helen Dawes, The Big Issue 'Funny, beautiful and chilling' Murrough O'Brien, Independent on Sunday

A young boy discovers the ambiguity of adult affection. A camp comedian cracks up on stage. A picture-restorer learns to accept her husband's true nature. A travel agent tastes the mysterious power of the Internet. A honeymoon couple take an unconventional route to love ...This dazzling collection of stories employs a host of remarkable characters and a range of original voices to provide a witty, compassionate yet uncompromising look at love and loss, desire and defiance, in the twenty-first century. These stories employ a spectrum of different voices to explore all aspects of experience - friendship, family, misunderstandings, frustrations, griefs and joys. They will appeal not only to the author's loyal readers, but also to a broad new readership for their assured style, humour, compassion and insight.