Hughes has arrayed eighty-eight narrative gems into three groups, The Zodiacal Light, Beyond Necessity, and The Ostraca of Inclusion—clever new takes on mythology, history, and science. A thirteenth star sign, minotaurs and gorgons, a dog ventriloquist, gears and cogs, a clock-wrestling octopus… all are semantic Möbius strips where fantasy and philosophy are seamlessly melded as only Hughes can do; both thought provoking and entertaining."
Contents:
2. Beyond Necessity (Kafka’s Birthday * One Mighty Bound * Kissing With Noses * Teachers * In the Corner * Fever * Occam’s Beard * Shadow Foot * Baldness * Listening to Leonora * The Contrast * The Leg Puppies * When I Discovered Laziness * Frankenstein Films * The Giant Woman * Exaggeration * In the Den with Daniel * Big Enough * The Skull * A Man on Stilts * How Cold is It? * Anatole France * The Birds * Postmodern Picnic * The Leaves * Stretching My Legs * Do They Believe? * The Mirror * The Underwater Trapeze * The Eleventh Commandment * The Façade * The Ventriloquist * The Gorgon * The Fireman * Infinity Gears * Walking the Wrong Plank * The Sea and the Ruins * Inside the Minotaur * The Prison * Head in Hands * The Windmill * Alexander Kluge * Washing Our Hands * How to Wake Up * The Umbrella * Song of the Sirens * The Slipper Exchange * The Palace * Pressed Flowers * The Octopus and the Clock * My Swiss Neighbour * The Palace Coup * Whirlwind Romance * The Witch * A Deep Breath * The Tired Bed * The Illuminations)
3. The Ostraca of Inclusion (Beyond the Edge * The Book Burning * Unwanted in Paradise * A Room With a View * White Cliffs * Map of Conquest * Just A Second * The Eclipse Flower * Monsieur Choux * Tumble Keys * Nostalgia City * Freight of Years * The Lamp * The Wardrobe of Love * The Lost Coffee * The Möbius Minutes * The Mirrors * The Overdue Book)
