Nothing the Fists Can't Fix and Other Stories

In these thirteen remarkable stories, Paul Maxton delves deep into the human condition, exploring both its tenderness and brutality while exposing the fragility of the mind. Set against the backdrop of Scotland's islands and cities, misfits and miscreants have a tenuous grip on reality, resorting to strange, often extreme, behaviour to express their hopes and desires. A man grapples with his anger management, leading to destructive consequences. A burnt-out soldier takes revenge on a friend during a goose-hunting trip. An alcoholic nurse, on her final warning, is consumed by news of an earthquake. A workaholic manager finds a Triumph Bonneville irresistible during a drug-fueled binge. A boy's fierce imagination draws him toward a mother he both loathes and longs for. Bursting with originality and dark humour, Maxton's stories are unnerving, inventive, and sharply attuned to the nuances of speech. This powerful, uncompromising debut collection delivers punch after punch, creating a world of love, loss, and longing that irresistibly draws the reader in.