Magnificent Bastards by Rich Hall

Magnificent Bastards

Rich Hall

'Magnificent Bastards' is a brilliantly apt title for this collection of short stories which range from rural USA to central London. The characters are all fighting the odds. Most are damaged to some degree and some are very unpleasant. But all manage to get themselves involved in extremely funny situations. This is a great book. Very definitely worth reading even if you don't usually read short stories or stories with a cruel humour.

Extract
You really have to wonder how it's all going to turn out for today's youth. Used to be kids respected your private property. Nowadays, I don't know why, but there seems to be some kind of idle hostility between teenagers and adults, nothing to do with age, just a small plain hatred awaiting transmogrification into sinister acts of wanton destruction. The Wife has a more laissez-faire attitude to it. 'Let teenagers be teenagers,' she says. Well, that's her motto, not mine. I'm all for forced internment, Guantanamo-style.
Parallels
  • Bang Crunch by Neil Smith
  • Dark Roots by Cate Kennedy
  • Island of the Sequinned Love Nun by Christopher Moore