Deborah Levy

 

AN AMOROUS DISCOURSE IN THE SUBURBS OF HELL

 
(an extract)
 

 

She

  i said nothing i said nothing i said looking   down into the suburbs and beyond i saw sad stars  fall like halos on men and women howling into the damp crease of their past i saw first worlds blister  the skin of other worlds zebras gallop  through burning suns  to the shade of long grasses,  and somewhere else,  love affairs in old hotels with balconies i saw beggars beg in every language  children fear death in every language and i saw you weeping on your doormat decided to  become a commuter between heaven and the suburbs of hell you seemed like a good sort of man an accountant with culinary tendencies tho’ lacking in charisma (look at your tie) the task to bring you into the light and dark of uncertainty the two great themes of classical science chaos   and   order undressing and dressing and cross dressing and overdressing and addressing envelopes

He

 

Sounds like hard work
To me

I like plain shampoos
Soaps

Ecologically sound
Detergents

One hundred per cent
Wool

Good strong tea

Olive oil (budget permitting)
I like the light

To be just light
And the dark
To just be dark

I do not wish to live in a grey area
Or to read between the lines
Love must start on the first line
Continue on every line

No line without love
And then she marries me
That is my wish
 
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DEBORAH LEVY writes fiction, plays and poetry. Her work has been staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company, and she is the author of highly praised books including Beautiful Mutants, Swallowing Geography and Billy and Girl.
Her novel, Swimming Home (2011, And Other Stories) was shortlisted for the 2012 Man Booker Prize, 2012 Specsavers National Book Awards (UK Author of the Year) and 2013 Jewish Quarterly Wingate Prize, while the title story of her most recent work of fiction, Black Vodka: ten stories, was shortlisted for the 2012 BBC International Short Story Award. An Amorous Discourse in the Suburbs of Hell is published by And Other Stories.
 
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Read more about Deborah Levy:

 
Review of Black Vodka and ‘Things I Don’t Want to Know’ in The New York Times
Interview in Booktrust
Interview in Bookanista
Author’s website