The Shell Collector by Anthony Doerr

The Shell Collector

Anthony Doerr

A powerful, striking and moving collection of stories by an author with a compelling style. The power of natural forces - water in all its forms - is a recurring theme throughout; several of the characters are fishermen. The natural world - its forests, wildernesses and oceans are where the people in the stories lose themselves when life becomes impossible for them. Strange countries and strange people that held my interest to the end.

Extract
As he watched, horrified, she turned and placed both hands, spread-fingered, in the thick shag of the bear's chest. Then she lowered her face, as if drinking from the snowy hollow, and pressed her lips to the bear's chest .... She felt the soft, silver tips of its fur brush her cheeks. Against her nose one huge rib flexed slightly.... She heard blood slug through her veins.
Parallels
  • The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
  • Raven's Wing by Joyce Carol Oates