Smut: Two Unseemly Stories

The Shielding of Mrs Forbes Graham Forbes is a disappointment to his mother who thinks that if he must have a wife, he should have done better. And her own husband would be better if she were mourning him than living with him. But this is Alan Bennett, so no matter the importance of keeping up appearances, what is happening in the bedroom (and in lots of other places too) is altogether more startling, perhaps shocking, and ultimately much more honest to people's predilections. The Greening of Mrs Donaldson Mrs Donaldson is a conventional middle-class woman beached on the shores of widowhood after a marriage that had been much like many others: happy to begin with, then satisfactory and finally dull. But when she decides to take in two lodgers (a young, broke couple) passions that she never knew existed are aroused, and her mundane life becomes much more stimulating .

About the Author :
Alan Bennett is one of the UK's most celebrated figures. He is the author of Untold Stories, and numerous works of fiction including The Uncommon Reader. His play The History Boys was the National Theatre's most successful production ever.

Review :
Beautiful and filthy Smut offers plenty of Bennett's trademark pleasures... consistently amusing and full of witty turns of phrase Amusingly peculiar... tender and comic... joyous anarchism... It is good, old-fashioned British humour with the lightest of subversive twists. Artfully entertaining... The stories have a dark, knowing shrewdness about erotic mischief, young and old... As always the writing is tonally perfect, laced with deadpan as well as bedpan comedy. All Bennett's work seems to me a dreamy evocation of an imaginary world in which he'd like to dwell, full of jokes and queerness. These days, he seems to be getting steadily smuttier, ever more disinhibited. But more strength to his elbow, I say. Marinated in subtleties. He's never as simple as he likes to appear ... That peculiarly British maladroitness - the perennial blush, wince and averted eye - and how adroitly it is grappled with, can make for great storytelling Hilarious In these two stories he applies his elegant literary gifts to his territory with the unabashed glee of one watching Benny Hill getting it on with Anita Brookner ... Bennett's talent for the honed quip is securely in place Unmitigated delight Alan Bennett continues to surprise and delight You can always rely on Alan Bennett to capture the intricate nuances of English Life and his latest offering is no exception Smut, the perfect title for this elegant little volume, is exactly what the stories are about. On a wider scale, however, they expose the hidden foibles of human nature in a way that is witty and wise but always acutely observed Both stories are nearly structured by a master storyteller Smut is vintage Bennett, especially the voice, so unremittingly lugubrious that, by comparison, his legendary Eeyore impersonation sounds blithe Unmistakably Bennett ... very funny Touching, human and very, very funny Small but perfectly formed ... will have you chortling dirtily Hugely entertaining ... an absolute joy Exploding with peepholes and post-coital custard creams Joe Orton under the influence of Sheridan, with a faint hint of Hylda Baker He writes about completely ordinary people, middle- and working-class, from drab places. He knows them. He grew up in Leeds; his father was a butcher. Again true to his native literature, he is almost always interested in morals, and in the difficulty of being good. Finally, like so many of his countrymen, he is a master satirist ... Bennett is casting a vote for women and, most touchingly, for people who are no longer young Bennett delivers ... with great finesse