Stephen Amidon

SPLITTING THE ATOM, 1990

“Amidon writes well about all his diverse settings, and has a strong, clean, anecdotal style which engrosses the reader immediately… wonderfully enjoyable.” Nick Hornby, Daily Telegraph

An ambitions, unusual and always interesting novel…convincing and moving…wildly funny and touching…there is no doubt about Amidon’s ability. He is what publishers love most: one to watch.” Margaret Forster, Sunday Times

SUBDIVISION, 1991

“Stephen Amidon’s subdivision defies cosy notions of community life and is distinctly short on American apple pie, but it is rich in humanity. It may be a hard place to love, but it is an easy one to believe in.” Independent on Sunday

Stephen Amidon’s memorable first collection of stories conjures up images of Winnesburg, Ohio—but updated for the brave new world on suburban purgatory and numbed by a soundtrack that ranges from Muzak to punk rock…All the citizens of this unnamed Subdivision are weary and it is to the author’s credit that he examines their situations with interest and compassion, never with an apathetic shrug.” New York Times Book Review

“This slim volume is easily the very finest collection of short stories to appear this year. Stephen Amidon presents us with a written art form which is truly amazing.” New England Review of Books

THIRST, 1993

“Amidon is at this point: what he doesn’t write about you simply don’t want to read about, at least for the duration of the novel. And what he does, he does expertly. You cannot ask much more of fiction.” Independent

“[Amidon] turns the parched desert into a semi-real landscape pregnant with telling details in a sizzling parable about finding a moral fulcrum in a throwaway society” Publishers Weekly (Starred review)

“Thirst is a brilliant novel and, true to its title, it leaves you crying out for more.” Times Literary Supplement

THE PRIMITIVE, 1995

“Amidon drags his reader kicking and screaming along a rollercoaster of modern emotions. As finely crafted as we have come to expect and with a crescendo like a rabbit kick to the gut. Read it.” Will Self

“Amidon’s new novel is a fluid, snaky thriller of great momentum…Amidon’s storytelling skill is considerable.” Times Literary Supplement