The Man Who Took to His Bed

A man wakes up one morning to find an unknown womanin bed beside him. A failed writer devises an ingenious method of plagiarizingthe work of others. Whole properties in a suburban neighbourhood beginvanishing overnight. An ancient grand piano is purchased by a mysterious youngcustomer with an old secret. A spontaneous experiment in the paranormalproduces an unexpected result...

Thiscollection of 14 short stories is Alex Skovron's second book of fiction, afterhis novella The Poet (2005)introduces an eclectic range of protagonists, predicaments, voices, andnarrative styles - playful, earnest, speculative, ironic, intimate,bittersweet, surreal. Between them, the characters'stories highlight theuntoward in the everyday, the transformative in the mundane, the twists andturning-points that can challenge us - and the games we play with others, andwith ourselves.

'Intricate, dreamy, deeply literate stories thatunsettle the senses and stir the intellect.' - Helen Garner

'By turns beautifully detailed, puzzling and alwaysintriguing, the hauntingly solitary tone of these exquisitely observed storiesinduces a rare meditative attentiveness in the reader. It is a powerfullyaffecting collection that left me eager to explore more of Skovron's world.' - Alex Miller