The Way Out

Vicki Jarrett

A girl on a paper round gets more than she bargained for. A couple feels the strain when the money runs out. Life plays out in the call centre, the bingo hall and at the bus stop.

Vicki Jarrett’s debut collection – reissued here with the bonus story ‘Up Dog Down Dog’ – is a deftly observed insight into the lives of people just trying to get by. Jarrett, whose first novel, Nothing is Heavy, was shortlisted for Scottish First Book of the Year, is drawn to the absurdity of everyday life. The characters in The Way Out dream of escape from jobs, relationships and disappointments, yet these darker tones are finely balanced by a natural lightness of touch. These stories are at once heart-breaking, tender, devastatingly honest and brimming with black comedy.

‘There is heart here… a very impressive collection.’ – Rodge Glass, author of Bring Me the Head of Ryan Giggs

‘These stories are warm yet chilling, barbed but sensuous, gruesome then tender, funny and wistful. In her accounts of men, women, children and arseholes, Jarrett serves up a platter of dilemmas, desires and disappointments. This is a collection full of style and control.’ – Anneliese Mackintsoh, author of Any Other Mouth

Vicki Jarrett is a novelist and short story writer from Edinburgh. Her first novel Nothing is Heavy was shortlisted for the Saltire Society Scottish First Book of the Year 2013. Her short fiction has been widely published and broadcast, shortlisted for the Scotland on Sunday/Macallan Short Story Competition, Manchester Fiction Prize and Bridport prize. Her first collection, The Way Out, was originally published in 2015, longlisted for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award, and shortlisted for the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize and the Edge Hill Short Story Prize. This edition contains an additional new story. Her latest novel, Always North, came out at the end of 2019 from Unsung Stories and was shortlisted for the Red Tentacle (Novel) Award in the Kitschies 2019.

She has worked in an eclectic variety of jobs from chip shop worker to technical author, English language teacher to domestic cleaner, with many peculiar detours along the way. It’s anyone’s guess what she’ll be doing by the time you read this, but whatever she does to earn a living, writing remains a constant.

Paperback £8.99
Ebook £5.99
Author Vicki Jarrett
Publication date 2 December 2021
ISBN 9780995632042
Ebook ISBN 9780995632059
Format B-format paperback | ebook
Page count 192
Categories Fiction; Short story collection