Paradise - Edna O'Brien

Faber Stories, a landmark series of individual volumes, presents masters of the short story form at work in a range of genres and styles.

An unnamed protagonist is on holiday with her new, much-married lover, in the company of the monstrously rich.

'How long would she last? It would be uppermost in all their minds.'

Each day, while the others are out at sea, she is taught to swim. Eventually, she will be expected to perform. The pressure mounts; it is only a matter of time before she snaps.

Edna O'Brien crafts a quietly horrifying scene of eroticism and insecurity, and makes one woman's near-fatal discomfort stand for society's larger trap.

Bringing together past, present and future in our ninetieth year, Faber Stories is a celebratory compendium of collectable work.

Edna O'Brien has written more than twenty works of fiction. She is the recipient of many awards, including the Irish PEN Lifetime Achievement Award, the American National Arts Gold Medal, the Frank O'Connor Prize, the PEN/Nabokov Award For Achievement in International Literature, and the David Cohen Prize for Literature. Born and raised in the west of Ireland, she has lived in London for many years.