William Boyd: The Dreams of Bethany Mellmoth, 9780241295878 hardback and outside the UK 9780241295885, C format paperback / publication date: November 2, 2017, Viking (Penguin Random House)

Those who have been following my blog know that William Boyd is one of my absolute favorite contemporary authors.  “Any Human Heart” (Eines Menschen Herz) and “Sweet caress” (Die Fotografin: Die vielen Leben der Amory Clay) sit on my shelf of beloved books.  I was very happy indeed to get my hands on his upcoming book of short stories “The Dreams of Bethany Mellmoth) pre-publication date and what a treat it was.  Boyd is simply a master story teller.  

“The Dreams of Bethany Mellmoth” is by far the longest short story in the book, a small novella in itself, a story of how chance encounters with different man shape the direction of Bethany Mellmoth’s life repeatedly.  I loved the one of the frustrated film director/screen play writer whose life situation is revealed bit by bit through the letters he writes to his girlfriend, brother, banker, producer and his leading actor, really had me laughing at times. The book begins with the story of the philandering husband who has resorted to kissing only which he doesn’t consider cheating . Then there is the story of the couple whose relationship starts with the end and ends with how they met.

Almost a small thriller in itself is the last story.  A mediocre actor is offered 1.000 pounds during an audition by a stranger if he drives a small glass container of liquid, supposedly holy water for a baptism, to a remote church in Scotland.  All these stories are William Boyd at his best, he describes human weaknesses so very brilliantly, you just keep turning the pages furiously. I cannot wait for his next book, he is said to be working on a novel due next year.