'The Best Australian Stories anthology brings together Australia’s most striking literary talents and provides a platform for those unpublished gems. This year Stella Prize–winning author Charlotte Wood takes the helm, putting together yet another enchanting collection. ...' (Source: Publisher's website)
'One Thursday, when Mr Razi had emerged from the subway to walk to his home he saw that the snow had descended from the mountains and covered the streets. He tucked his head into his wool overcoat and his thick silver white hair ruffled out above his collar like a Shahin's open wings. He walked, away from the main road and the sound of train followed on the breath of the snow. He played with the corner of the metro ticket and then submerged his hands deep into his pockets and caressed his keys. On the way home he stopped at the corner shop to buy eggs and then he went to the local chemist to buy his new sleeping pills...' (Introduction)
'Mornings were when they were most forgiving of each other. When they fucked now it was first thing, when they were still kind. Before Clive got sick, he was always up early. He worked at the power plant in Hazelwood. Even when he’d been on night shift, he’d get up and make the coffee.' (Introduction)
'It comes with a sound like a river, the noise so loud in the silence of the observatory he turns for a moment to see if Clyde has heard it too, only to realise Clyde is not there, that he left hours ago. Through the door he can see the trees outside, dark against the fading sky, hear the wind in the trees, And then the sound is gone, as quickly as it began...' (Introduction)
'A rumination on absence.'
'If a collection of stories is put together on the basis that these are the ‘best Australian stories of 2016’, is it fair or reasonable to hope for some kind of cohesiveness or gestalt beyond those three explicit parameters of quality, place, and time? The answer will depend largely on what the editor’s ideas might be, not only about what makes a good short story, but also about the way to make a group of individual stories add up to a book: to something more than the sum of its parts.'
(Introduction)
'A rumination on absence.'
'If a collection of stories is put together on the basis that these are the ‘best Australian stories of 2016’, is it fair or reasonable to hope for some kind of cohesiveness or gestalt beyond those three explicit parameters of quality, place, and time? The answer will depend largely on what the editor’s ideas might be, not only about what makes a good short story, but also about the way to make a group of individual stories add up to a book: to something more than the sum of its parts.'
(Introduction)
