The Brutal Language of Love

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From its startling opening sentences, THE BRUTAL LANGUAGE OF LOVE has the reader hooked: raw, frank and often desperately funny, the stories in this collection set out to redraw the map of the human heart. We meet a young teenager who spends her afternoons taking baths with the school bully, a woman in her thirties who is convinced by a bra shopping trip that she is a lesbian, and an American college girl who marries an Egyptian man to prove to herself that she is not racist. Erian's heroines are often outsiders, but what unites them is their defiance - though their choices may lead them to suffer, there is an overwhelming sense that they may prefer this than to have missed the experiences that have made them who they are.

Reviews

Alicia Erian s sublime first collection...Her writing and her dissections of modern life and relationships are visceral, brilliantly observed, sharp as a lemon and very, very funny... She s a mixture of Candace Bushnell and J D Salinger if such a thing were possible. I read her stories avidly, and fast. And then I read them all over again. I can t wait to hear more from Alicia Erian - Maggie O'Farrell, Independent on Sunday

A lovely little book. A collection of nine sexy short stories, it is an extremely memorable debut filled with delightful scenes that stayed in my memory long after I had finished reading it... Almost all of Erian's characters have a light-hearted attitude to their sexuality, using it to get out of being bullied, or to end arguments. This is tricky territory, and it is a mark of Erian's skill that the writing never seems offensive or exploitative. The emphasis on sex seems joyful, and it is fun to be in the company of characters who seem able to deal with whatever life throws at them. Erian is an excellent short-story writer, and should be read by anyone who enjoys provocative women's fiction - Matt Thorne, Erotic Review

She's funny and she's nasty and what's more, this is a proper collection: her stories are not merely joined by a front and back page but by a clear and cohesive tone throughout. Seriously good' - Stella Duffy

Author Bio

Alicia Erian was born in New York to an Egyptian father and American mother. She has worked as a film director and screenwriter - her script WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN has attracted interest from Julia Roberts' production company, amongst others. She has had a story published in Francis Ford Coppola's magazine Zoetrope, which he has optioned. Alicia has briefly lived in London and Ireland.