Title: Ox-Tales: Earth, Air, Fire & Water
Author: Various
Publisher: Profile Books
ISBN:
Earth – 978-184668-2582 (207 pages)
Air – 978-184668-2612 (208 pages)
Fire – 978-184668-2599 (206 pages)
Water – 978-184668-2065 (208 pages)
Genre: Short Stories
Summary (Profile Books website)
A major publishing event, Ox-Tales is a remarkable collaboration between Profile Books, the Hay Festival, Oxfam and 30 of the leading fiction writers based in Britain and Ireland.
The project launches with a set of four stunningly produced books, each containing eight original stories. Each book is themed on one of the elements – Earth, Fire, Air and Water – and features work from a dream cast of authors. The big idea is to raise money for Oxfam and along the way to highlight the charity’s work in project areas: agriculture in Earth, water projects in Water, conflict aid in Fire, and climate change in Air.
The four books will play a central role in the first ever Oxfam Book Fortnight, a new annual event launching in July 2009. The fortnight will be co-ordinated by Hay and bring together dozens of UK literary festivals, who are each being asked to put on one Oxfam event during the fortnight.
Comments
I have a bit of a love/hate relationship going with short stories. I often read for only 10 – 15 minutes and I enjoy being able to dip in and out of an anthology or book of short stories at times. On the other hand, I’m often left wanting more – more story, more character development, more information – and can be left feeling frustrated that I’ve only been given a snapshot when I want the whole photo album.
Having said that, I quite enjoyed this four book collection of short stories published as a fund-raiser for Oxfam. There were several authors that I hadn’t read before and I have now added several 
new names to my ‘must read’ list.
One of my favourites was Marti Leimbach’s Boy’s in Cars (in Ox-Tales: Earth) which I found quite touching, both as a mother and someone who has several friends with children with Austism Spectrum Disorder.
Other favourites included:
- Fieldwork (Ox-Tales: Earth) – Ian Rankin’s 200 word contribution
- The King Who Never Spoke (Ox-Tales: Fire) – John Le Carre
- The Jester of Astapovo (Ox-Tales: Earth) – Rose Tremain’s fictional account of the final days in the life of Leo Tolstoy.
- The Importance of Warm Feet (Ox Tales: Earth) – Marina Lewyca’s
In addition to the fantastic collection of short stories, each book begins with a poem by Vikram Seth and includes information about relevant aspects of the work done by Oxfam in developing countries.
This collection of books would make a great Christmas gift for any avid reader with the added benefit of supporting important Oxfam projects internationally.
Related Links
- Suite101 Review – Ox-Tales series
- Oxfam International
- OxfamDevelopment Projects highlighted in the books
