There are lots of reasons to buy Speaking with the Angel, an anthology of first-person narratives by bright, young, mostly British literati: these are smart and original stories, none of them previously published elsewhere. What's more, it's for a good cause. Nick Hornby, editor of the collection and author of one of the pieces, has an autistic son, and in a raw and wrenching introduction he stresses the importance of educational institutions to serve such children, who "have no language, and no particular compulsion to acquire it, who are born without the need to explore the world." Accordingly, a portion of each sale benefits autism charities around the world.

Still, this is a collection that stands on its own merits, and requires no act of charity to purchase. In Roddy Doyle's "The Slave," for example, a 42-year-old family man discovers a dead rat on his kitchen floor, and this unwelcome incursion from the natural world plunges him into a midlife crisis. In "Last Requests," Giles Smith introduces us to a prison cook who specializes in, well, last suppers. It's both hilarious and shocking to encounter this egomaniacal chef on the job: They can have what they like, within reason, up to a maximum of three courses, with coffee or tea and a piece of confectionary or a biscuit if they want it. No alcohol, for obvious reasons. Obviously, you'll get the jokers, like the one who said he wanted a whole roast pig with an apple in its mouth. Or the governor's head, one of them said he wanted. Elsewhere, in Hornby's own "NippleJesus," a skinhead bouncer becomes a museum guard and falls for the painting he's charged to protect, a crucifixion collage made up of thousands of tiny breasts cut out of porn magazines. The stories in Speaking with the Angel all feel up to the minute, abounding with references to politics and popular culture. Yet the obscenity and slang ultimately amount to a form of bluster, an acknowledgement of the intrinsic fragility that all 12 of these narrators share. --Victoria Jenkins

From Publishers Weekly
A virtual who's who of the latest literary guard, this anthology bristles with the crackly talent and confidence of both the newly and the already fabulous. Included are Hornby himself, Melissa Bank, Dave Eggers, Helen Fielding and Zadie Smith, as well as veteran favorites Roddy Doyle and Irvine Welsh. Every story is told in the first person, and the voices are consistent, fresh, particular. Though some tales veer toward the trendy side of topical, each one surprises and entertains. Eggers's "After I Was Thrown in the River and Before I Drowned" is told by a pit bull whose anthropomorphized sensibilities and phraseology are quite lovely. Patrick Marber treads on familiar turf in "Peter Shelley," a defloration/coming-of-age story told in a blend of irreverence and awe that seems new. In "Last Requests," Giles Smith imagines some moments in the career of a Death Row chef who does her best to satisfy the inmates' final culinary wants. And Roddy Doyle further ennobles his reputation with "The Slave," in which an anxious, literate, working-class father suffers a mid-life reckoning with a large dead rat in his kitchen. None of these 12 stories disappoints. (Feb. 6) Forecast: An imaginative cover-featuring painted doll-like ceramic busts of the icontributors-will catch browsers' eyes, as will Hornby's name at the top of the jacket. The should sell snappily if prominently displayed, and perhaps more so if it becomes known that some portion of the profits will go to TreeHouse, a British school for autistic children's. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Hornby (High Fidelity; About a Boy) asked colleagues to contribute to this collection, the proceeds of which are to benefit the TreeHouse School, an institution for children with autism. Even without the noble cause, the book is worth purchasing, with new stories from the likes of Melissa Bank, Dave Eggers, Helen Fielding, and Zadie Smith. Robert Harris's "PMQ" is a hilarious send-up of a politician's peccadilloes. Other standouts include Hornby's own "NippleJesus," about a controversial artwork, told from the perspective of a museum security guard, and Roddy Doyle's "The Slave," a stream-of-consciousness tour de force in which a rat in the house is the progenitor of a man's midlife crisis. Highly recommended for public libraries; patrons may be inspired to send Hornby the money the TreeHouse School would have received if they had bought the book.Christine DeZelar-Tiedman, Univ. of Minnesota Libs., Minneapolis Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Writer Hornby plays the editor role to bring together this collection of 12 wonderfully fresh stories by some of today's leading writers. The book's title could imply that there is some sort of divine intervention running through the stories, but better still, the opposite may be more in evidence. A British PM attempts to explain questionable behavior. A boy faces the decline and death of his storytelling grandmother. A working-class bloke comes to appreciate art in a unique and special way. A man is caught in what seems to be an eternity of "buggery." And, perhaps the best, a dog views life and death. The seven other stories are equally strong. Though each story is well worth reading for its own sake, this skillfully composed collection also serves as an introduction to the very talented voices of the authors represented here. For many readers, it can provide a checklist of "who to read" for the future. Danise Hoover
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
Speaking with the Angel:

12 completely new stories, narrated by 12 completely fabulous characters, written by 12 of the most celebrated voices in fiction today. Bestselling author Nick Hornby has brought together a star-studded group of writers to create this one-of-a-kind collection of first-person narratives.

From the imaginations of Dave Eggers, Zadie Smith, Irvine Welsh, Helen Fielding, Roddy Doyle, Melissa Bank, and others, including Nick Hornby himself, have sprung eleven enthralling, unforgettable talking heads. Clever, outragious, witty, edgy, tender, wicked....This is what is meant by "original."

About the Author
Nick Hornby is the bestselling author of the novels High Fidelity and About a Boy, and the memoir, Fever Pitch.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Edited by Nick Hornby, Speaking with the Angel brings 12 of today's most original voices -- including Dave Eggers, Zadie Smith, Irvine Welsh, and Helen Fielding -- together for an often skewed, always hilarious perspective on human behavior at the dawn of a new millennium. Proceeds from the collection will benefit autism charities around the world, including The Treehouse School in London, where Nick's son Danny is a student, and the New York Child Learning Institute in New York.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Bestselling author Nick Hornby has brought together a star-studded group of writers to create this one-of-a-kind collection of first-person narratives. Here are Melissa Bank (The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing), Roddy Doyle (Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha), Dave Eggers (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius), Helen Fielding (Bridget Jones's Diary), Colin Firth (star of the film Fever Pitch), Robert Harris (Fatherland), Patrick Marber (Closer), John O'Farrell (Things Can Only Get Better), Giles Smith (Lost in Music), Zadie Smith (White Teeth), Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting), and Nick Hornby himself. Speaking with the Angel is the anthology of the year: hot...hilarious...lively...literary...and all original.

FROM THE CRITICS

Mary Elizabeth Williams - New York Times Book Review

The only thing linking the 12 stories here is that each of them is told in the first person, and each is quirky, colorful and alive....Charity project or not, Speaking with the Angel is an exemplary gathering of bright literary lights from both sides of the Atlantic, doing exactly what they do best.

Publishers Weekly

A virtual who's who of the latest literary guard, this anthology bristles with the crackly talent and confidence of both the newly and the already fabulous. Included are Hornby himself, Melissa Bank, Dave Eggers, Helen Fielding and Zadie Smith, as well as veteran favorites Roddy Doyle and Irvine Welsh. Every story is told in the first person, and the voices are consistent, fresh, particular. Though some tales veer toward the trendy side of topical, each one surprises and entertains. Eggers's "After I Was Thrown in the River and Before I Drowned" is told by a pit bull whose anthropomorphized sensibilities and phraseology are quite lovely. Patrick Marber treads on familiar turf in "Peter Shelley," a defloration/coming-of-age story told in a blend of irreverence and awe that seems new. In "Last Requests," Giles Smith imagines some moments in the career of a Death Row chef who does her best to satisfy the inmates' final culinary wants. And Roddy Doyle further ennobles his reputation with "The Slave," in which an anxious, literate, working-class father suffers a mid-life reckoning with a large dead rat in his kitchen. None of these 12 stories disappoints. (Feb. 6) Forecast: An imaginative cover-featuring painted doll-like ceramic busts of the icontributors-will catch browsers' eyes, as will Hornby's name at the top of the jacket. The should sell snappily if prominently displayed, and perhaps more so if it becomes known that some portion of the profits will go to TreeHouse, a British school for autistic children's. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Hornby (High Fidelity; About a Boy) asked colleagues to contribute to this collection, the proceeds of which are to benefit the TreeHouse School, an institution for children with autism. Even without the noble cause, the book is worth purchasing, with new stories from the likes of Melissa Bank, Dave Eggers, Helen Fielding, and Zadie Smith. Robert Harris's "PMQ" is a hilarious send-up of a politician's peccadilloes. Other standouts include Hornby's own "NippleJesus," about a controversial artwork, told from the perspective of a museum security guard, and Roddy Doyle's "The Slave," a stream-of-consciousness tour de force in which a rat in the house is the progenitor of a man's midlife crisis. Highly recommended for public libraries; patrons may be inspired to send Hornby the money the TreeHouse School would have received if they had bought the book.-Christine DeZelar-Tiedman, Univ. of Minnesota Libs., Minneapolis Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Michiko Kakutani - New York Times