''The Whole Story and Other Stories'' is a short story collection by Scottish Booker-shortlisted author

Ali Smith Ali Smith CBE FRSL (born 24 August 1962) is a Scottish author, playwright, academic and journalist. Sebastian Barry described her in 2016 as "Scotland's Nobel laureate-in-waiting". Early life and education Smith was born in Inverness on 24 Au ...

, first published in 2003 by

Hamish Hamilton Hamish Hamilton Limited was a British book publishing house, founded in 1931 eponymously by the half-Scot half-American Jamie Hamilton (''Hamish'' is the vocative form of the Gaelic Seumas eaning James ''James'' the English form – which was ...

. It contains twelve stories :- #"The Universal Story" : A man buys up every copy of ''

The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts First-person narrative, first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious mil ...

'' in a second-hand bookshop. The narrative focus switches between the proprietor, a 1974

Penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

edition of the book, a fly landing on it, and the man, who it transpires is buying every copy of the book he can find for his sister, who is constructing a boat out of them financed by an Arts Council grant... #"Gothic" : Gives an insight into the life of a bookshop clerk and the eccentricities of the customers and how she deals with them. #"Being Quick" : A traveller returning home sees

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

on the concourse of

King's Cross station King's Cross railway station, also known as London King's Cross, is a passenger railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, on the edge of Central London. It is in the London station group, one of the busiest stations in the United King ...

; later, a fatality on the line delays the train and the traveller decides to walk the remainder of the journey but cannot phone home as her mobile phone has died... #"May": A woman falls hopelessly in love with a neighbour's tree... #"Paradise" : Follows the live of three Scottish sisters; one a shift manager in a fast-food restaurant (who single-handedly foils an armed raid); the second is a hostess on a boat taking day-trips on

Loch Ness Loch Ness (; gd, Loch Nis ) is a large freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately southwest of Inverness. It takes its name from the River Ness, which flows from the northern end. Loch Ness is best known for clai ...

and the third is drunk in a cemetery vandalising angels. #"Erosive" : An Apple tree is infested with aphids, the owner falls in love... #"The Book Club" :A young girl borrows books from a bookseller, reading them carefully so they can still be sold; later her mother joins a book club... #"Believe Me" :A woman admits to her female lover that she is married and spends her days with her husband. Her lover then admits she is also having an affair with him... #"Scottish Love Songs" : An elderly lady is haunted by a

Pipe Band A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of Bagpipes, pipers and drummers. The term pipes and drums, used by military pipe bands is also common. The most common form of pipe band consists of a section of pipers playing the Great Highland b ...

who continually march through her house playing, rendering her all but deaf... #"The Shortlist Season" : A young woman believes herself to be allergic to modern art... #"The Heat of the Story" : Three drunk women stagger into

Midnight Mass In many Western Christian traditions Midnight Mass is the first liturgy of Christmastide that is celebrated on the night of Christmas Eve, traditionally beginning at midnight when Christmas Eve gives way to Christmas Day. This popular Christmas c ...

... #"The Start of Things" : A lover is locked out on a cold winter night...

External links

Interview
from ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...

''
The real and the arch
Review from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' by

Rachel Cusk Rachel Cusk (born 8 February 1967) is a British novelist and writer. Childhood and education Cusk was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Saskatoon to British people, British parents in 1967, the second of four children with an older sister and t ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whole Story and Other Stories 2003 short story collections Scottish short story collections Hamish Hamilton books