The Destiny of Nathalie X

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Four of these stories have been published in Granta: “The Destiny of Nathalie X,” “Cork,” “Transfigured Night” and “Alpes-Maritimes.” “Alpes-Maritimes” also made it into a second Penguin edition of my first volume of short stories—On the Yankee Station (1981) — but has never been collected between hard covers and I wanted to include it here, albeit in a slightly altered form. “Loose Continuity” was published in The New Yorker, “The Dream Lover” in London Magazine, “Hôtel des Voyageurs” in the Daily Telegraph and “N Is for N” appeared in Hockney’s Alphabet (Faber and Faber, 1993).

WB

London, 1997

Man’s Voice(over)

IONCE HEARD a theory about this town, this place where we work and wrangle, where we swindle and swive. It was told to me by this writer I knew. He said: “It’s only a dance, but then again, it’s the only dance.” I’m not so sure he’s right, but anyway, he’s dead now …

Fade In

ONCE UPON a time — actually, not so very long ago at all, come to think of it — in east-central West Africa, on one enervating May morning, Aurélien No sat on the stoop of his father’s house staring aimlessly at the road that led to Murkina Leto, state capital of the People’s Republic of Kiq. The sun’s force seemed to press upon the dusty brown landscape with redundant intensity, Aurélien thought idly, there was no moisture left out there to evaporate and it seemed … He searched for a word for a second or two: it seemed “stupid” that all that calorific energy should go to waste.

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