Sex and Death: Stories

In this provocative and haunting collection of short stories, edited by two masters of the form, a diverse group of contemporary writers probes the nature and connection between two of the most powerful, exhilarating, and terrifying forces that define and shape the human experience.

“What else is there?”—Alice Munro, on why so much of her work deals with the twin themes of sex and death.

The drive for life—for survival and reproduction—and the drive for death—for violence and self-destruction—are the two dominant, instinctive urges of human behavior. These conflicting compulsions, characterized by Freud as Eros and Thanatos, are also the central themes of great literature. In Sex and Death, some of today’s most compelling writers from around the globe—Kevin Barry, Lynn Coady, Ceridwen Dovey, Robert Drewe, Damon Galgut, Petina Gappah, Sarah Hall, Peter Hobbs, Yiyun Li, Alexander MacLeod, Ben Marcus, Jon McGregor, Guadalupe Nettel, Courttia Newland, Taiye Selasi, Ali Smith, Wells Tower, Claire Vaye Watkins, Alan Warner, Clare Wigfall—explore these challenging themes with honesty, psychological acuity, brutality, tenderness, and empathy, in stories that are disquieting, illuminating, funny, and utterly dazzling.

How we come in, and how we go out, sex and death: these are the governing drives, our two greatest themes.

In this provocative, haunting, and sexy collection of short stories, a group of acclaimed writers from across the globe probes the nature of, and connection between, two of the most powerful, exhilarating, and terrifying forces that define and shape the human experience: sex and death.

Here we see the events that mark the lives of the young and old, of men and women, of those meeting only briefly and others reflecting on shared pasts.

In these intense, often traumatic, and sometimes humorous interactions, we are confronted not just with our urges and anxieties, but with the very limits of mortality and morbidity. Honest, compassionate, and psychologically astute, the stories in Sex and Death are daring in their approaches to the form and relentless in their pursuit of what it is to be human.

Kevin Barry • Lynn Coady • Ceridwen Dovey • Robert Drewe • Damon Galgut • Petina Gappah • Sarah Hall • Peter Hobbs • Yiyun Li • Alexander MacLeod • Ben Marcus • Jon McGregor • Guadalupe Nettel • Courttia Newland • Taiye Selasi • Ali Smith • Wells Tower • Alan Warner • Claire Vaye Watkins • Clare Wigfall

“Exquisite...Each piece is a carefully crafted world unto itself, a poignant speaking of the unspeakable. Together, they provide a glimpse of what it looks like when we come undone.” - Toronto Star

“These twenty stories grapple with the meaning of life in myriad heartfelt ways, combining to create a challenging yet life-affirming read. Curl up on the sofa and indulge yourself.” - Daily Mail (UK)