"41 Places:41 Stories" is a book of found narratives, true stories picked up on street corners, taxi ranks, pubs, car parks - even in public toilets. Each tale inhabits its own geography: a specific place in the centre of a British seaside town. If the essence of narrative is change, William Shaw distils it here in these tales of love, loss and self-discovery. Brighton is, after all, a place where people have always come to transform themselves.

Table of Contents:
Introduction 01 It's only a bit of paper 02 You just know the moment you walk through the front door 03 Anything can happen at this time of night 04 They talked about how rocky things had been 05 They reach out and kiss 06 Are we the wonderland she is thinking about? 07 He's quite proud to be able to provide for his son this way 08 Gemma's housemates were suspicious of the new boyfriend 09 ...but his brain still fizzes and sparks, unable to settle 10 ...all she wanted to do was sit down on the cold pavement and cry 11 I could have sworn I brought my bag in 12 ...no one talked to you and the money just dissolved in your pocket 13 ...right here on the pavement... 14 ...how tough it is to be single when all your friends are in relationships 15 "Do I amuse you? Do you find me amusing? Do I make you laugh?" 16 He remembers the first time he saw this recording studio, three years ago 17 "Can we go in one that's a bit more gay?" 18 The first time she saw him, she thought, "Oh, I should stay away from him" 19 "We're not a couple!" 20 Tom feels instantly light-headed, dazed by the horror of the moment 21 ...she still craves the taste 22 His parents don't have a clue 23 ...the sheer nothingy-ness of her dad 24 That's so rude 25 ...the bird flutters a little way off and stands, looking at them stupidly 26 "You're like the crocodile in Peter Pan" 27 All the way to Vienna, he carries the blooms carefully on his lap 28 "We're going to do it! We're going to do it!" 29 That was the first time he ever slept rough 30 Some days he goes bacon-and-egging 31 Where did the thing that made you cry come from? 32 The other day he found a 1966 American silver dollar on the beach. Makes you think 33 "How much have you had to drink, sir?" 34 "What happened? You won the lottery?" 35 Even her parents didn't know what to do with Swena's hair 36 Good Lord! 37 "We destroy the myth that all accountants are boring" 38 ...laughter follows them 39 They all knew it would be their last night together 40 Rejoining real life was bewildering 41 Act casual Afterword: The Tortoise in the Pocket Acknowledgments