This new collection of eleven stories by the author of The Blue Afternoon takes readers back in time from a contemporary Hollywood film shoot to World War I in Vienna, introducing an unforgettable cast of characters. Artful, witty, moving, The Destiny of Nathalie X is a confirmation of Boyd's standing as a master storyteller. 208 pp. Author tour. 15,000 print. The author of The Blue Afternoon and Brazzaville Beach confirms his mastery of story with this wide-ranging collection. Traveling from Lisbon and London to contemporary Hollywood, from World War I to the present, these stories are singular and eclectic, each wholly distinct from the other. Their range of reference is also sweeping and varied, from Ludwig Wittgenstein to David Hockney, burgeoning fascism to burgeoning capitalism, foreign languages to Hollywood-speak, an imaginary Brazil to cinéma vérité . Their tone covers the spectrum from despair to high comedy. The true constants are Boyd's sharp eye and multifaceted prose. Whatever the refracting device, Mr. Boyd's ability to zero in on ordinary human foibles and woes--daydream delusions, cultural dislocations, emotional smash-ups--is swift and sure.... his eccentric wit and restless intelligence exert a powerful appeal. -- The New York Times Book Review, Michael Upchurch lection of eleven stories by the author of The Blue Afternoon takes readers back in time from a contemporary Hollywood film shoot to World War I in Vienna, introducing an unforgettable cast of characters. Artful, witty, moving, The Destiny of Nathalie X is a confirmation of Boyd's standing as a master storyteller. 208 pp. Author tour. 15,000 print. William Boyd’s first novel, A Good Man in Africa , won a Whitbread Prize and a Somerset Maugham Award; his second, An Ice-Cream War , was awarded the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize; Brazzaville Beach won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize; and The Blue Afternoon won the Los Angeles Times Prize for Fiction. Boyd lives in London. From the Trade Paperback edition.