Everest

<p><b>A collection of diamond-sharp stories from an award-winning writer, for fans of Eliza Clark''s <i>She''s Always Hungry</i> and Carmen Maria Machado''s <i>Her Body and Other Parties</i>.</b><br><b><br>What happens when you reach Everest''s peak? Is it everything you dreamed?</b><br><br>In a magnetic follow-up <i>to Winter Animals</i>, Ashani Lewis'' debut collection takes a kaleidoscopic approach to desire - its obsessions, its grotesque demands and the distance it creates between us - and the strange things we stubbornly, hopefully, desperately expect from our lives.<br><br>A dying woman dedicates her life to Antarctic ice; an All-American star longs for a romance that defies convention - to the detriment of his carefully curated reputation; a woman seeking her exes'' opinions on a breast augmentation takes us on a whirlwind tour of the complicated, intertwined lives of urbanites; a singer prepares for her film debut, pushing her humanity to its limits at an unusual acting school; a newlywed couple put their marriage to the ultimate test: Everest. In these twenty-one striking stories, Lewis creates a stark world of fleeting infatuations, violent compulsions, unexpected solace and the sombre ghost of memories.<br><br><b><i>Praise for </i>WINTER ANIMALS<i>:</i></b><br><br>''Thoughtful, intelligent and beautifully written . . . Lewis is definitely a new talent to watch'' MARIE CLAIRE<br><br>''A dreamlike, piercing examination of privilege, youth and freedom'' <i>Cecile Pin, author of</i> WANDERING SOULS<br><br>''Lewis is superbly talented'' <i>Katherine Rundell, author of </i>SUPER-INFINITE <i>and </i>THE GOLDEN MOLE<br><br>''A remarkable novel: atmospheric as hell, beautiful and delightfully intelligent . . . Think THE SECRET HISTORY written by Raven Leilani'' <i>Jenny Mustard, author of </i>OKAY DAYS<br><br>''Beautiful writing'' FINANCIAL TIMES<br><br>''A glittering, dark-edged tale . . . Exhilarating and fabulous, I raced through it'' <i>Priscilla Morris, author of</i> BLACK BUTTERFLIES<br><br>''Compelling'' THE IRISH TIMES<br><br>''A debut full of ideas. I have the sense that this is the first of many new worlds'' TELEGRAPH</p>