Madame Zero

Review Astonishing: humane yet otherworldly, disturbing, sexy and strange. The woman is a genius. -- Jessie Burton, author of The Miniaturist ― Observer Books of the Year These stories leave the reader unsettled, thrilled, and changed. This is a marvellous piece of work. -- Jon McGregor Exceptional, compelling, frightening and authentic. ― Guardian So fearsomely excellent it almost hurt to read. Truly the best collection I've come across in a decade. -- Wells Tower, author of Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned Slick, sharp, sexy and subversive stories from the extravagantly talented Sarah Hall that never quite do what you expect them to. ― Metro Fiction of the Year I am currently reading Madame Zero, which I can't praise highly enough. -- David Mitchell, author of Cloud Atlas ― Guardian Product Description *WINNER OF THE BBC NATIONAL SHORT STORY AWARD 2020* SHORTLISTED FOR THE EDGE HILL SHORT STORY PRIZE 2018 LONGLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2018 WINNER OF THE EAST ANGLIAN BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION WINNER OF AN O.HENRY PRIZE FOR SHORT FICTION 'A genius.' Jessie Burton Madame Zerois a remarkable collection of dark, sensuous stories set in sometimes conflicting landscapes - rural, industrial, psychological - all of which are hauntingly resonant with dread. Whether set in an apocalyptic storm, a local swimming pool, or a surgical theatre, Sarah Hall's celebrated stories inhabit a hinterland between the natural and urban, the mundane and surreal, human and animal. Book Description Madame Zero is the haunting new prize-winning collection of stories from Sarah Hall (twice shortlisted for the Man Booker prize). About the Author Sarah Hall was born in Cumbria. Twice nominated for the Man Booker Prize, she is the award-winning author of six novels and three short-story collections: The Beautiful Indifference, which won the Edge Hill and Portico prizes, Madame Zero, winner of the East Anglian Book Award, and Sudden Traveller, shortlisted for the James Tait Black Prize for Fiction. She is currently the only author to be four times shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award, which she won in 2013 with 'Mrs Fox' and in 2020 with 'The Grotesques'.