Deborah Levy - An Amorous Discourse in the Suburbs of Hell

she

you are suburbia’s satisfied son

i came to you

naked

glittering

flew through a chernobyl storm

above the pripyat river and its seven left tributaries

pina, yaselda, tsna, lan, sluch, ptsich, braginka

to find your microwave dreaming of you

yes dreaming of you

kneeling in a nuclear forest

gathering mushrooms in lithuania

pinging

pinging

pinging

dreaming in stainless steel for you

‌

He

You came to me

At the moment

I did battle with my soul

And found myself

Weeping on the doormat

Journeyed through

The storm in my heart

To heal the wounded

And yet the healer

Is more wounded than myself.

Your discontent

Has shattered

My double glazing

Twice

Who taught you

To behave like that?

This is a gentle place

With ancient trees

And often blossom

Go away

And don’t come back

Fuck off

Out of my easily

Satisfied arms.

‌

she

so cruel you are

secretly. untangle

this bird caught

in my hair. it blew

in from somewhere

made me yearn

for hugs and

boat rides

i’ve got all plump

from lack of euphoria.

‌

He

Ha!

Despite your sizzling proclamations

I am happier than you

Though you despise me for it

I listen to the weather forecast

Enjoy peaceful walks

In appropriate clothing

Sleep well at night

Do I need you?

Though flattered to be visited by an angel

With a mission

I prefer talking to my postman

His name is Shivadhar

In winter he wears a black beanie

With a bobble and I want one

In blue.

Tonight

I will eat

Pad Thai and drink

Singha beer

With my brother

Grateful

For small pleasures

We can share

All the while

Glad to be sure

The sun will always set in the West

And dusk settle over this suburb of bankrupt councils

Retail click-and-collect centres

Mental health tribunals

And me

And Shivadhar

And my brother.

Did you say you can hear a frog

Splashing at the end of the world?

‌

she

i said nothing

i said something

i said never talk to the hand

when you have an angel

perched on your wrist

you are a human subject

living and furious

architect of your own paradise

on this grave earth

of splendid contraries

it’s been a pleasure

to know you

and then know

you a little bit more

fry me a sardine

the wind is blowing

i’ll be off.

‌

Dear readers,

We rely on subscriptions from people like you to tell these other stories — the types of stories most publishers consider too risky to take on.

Our subscribers don’t just make the books physically happen. They also help us approach booksellers, because we can demonstrate that our books already have readers and fans. And they give us the security to publish in line with our values, which are collaborative, imaginative and ‘shamelessly literary’.

All of our subscribers:

receive a first-edition copy of each of the books they subscribe to

are thanked by name at the end of these books

are warmly invited to contribute to our plans and choice of future books Become a subscriber, or give a subscription to a friend

Visit andotherstories.org/subscribe to become part of an alternative approach to publishing.

Subscriptions are:

£20 for two books per year

£35 for four books per year

£50 for six books per year Other Ways to Get Involved

If you’d like to know about upcoming events and reading groups (our foreign-language reading groups help us choose books to publish, for example) you can:

join the mailing list at: andotherstories.org/join-us

follow us on Twitter: @andothertweets

join us on Facebook: facebook.com/AndOtherStoriesBooks

follow our blog: Ampersand

‌

This book was made possible thanks to the support of:

Adam Butler · Adam Lenson · Adrian May · AG Hughes · Aidan Cottrell-Boyce · Aine Bourke · Ajay Sharma · Alan Ramsey · Alannah Hopkin · Alastair Dickson · Alastair Gillespie · Alastair Laing · Alec Begley · Alex Martin · Alex Ramsey · Alex Sutcliffe · Alexandra Buchler · Alexandra de Verseg-Roesch · Ali Conway · Ali Smith · Alice Nightingale · Alisa Brookes · Alison Hughes · Alison Winston · Allison Graham · Alyse Ceirante · Amanda Anderson · Amanda Banham · Amanda Dalton · Amanda Love Darragh · Amelia Ashton · Amelia Dowe · Amy Rushton · Amy Webster · Ana Amália Alves · Andrea Davis · Andrew Marston · Andrew McCafferty · Andrew Nairn · Andrew Pattison · Andy Burfield · Andy Paterson · Angela Thirlwell · Angharad Eyre · Angus MacDonald · Angus Walker · Ann McAllister · Ann Van Dyck · Anna Milsom · Anna Vinegrad · Anna-Karin Palm · Annabel Hagg · Annalise Pippard · Anne Carus · Anne Claydon-Wallace · Anne Maguire · Anne Waugh · Anne Clair Le Reste · Anne Marie Jackson · Annette Nugent · Annie McDermott · Anonymous · Antonio de Swift · Antony Pearce · Archie Davies · Asher Norris · Averill Buchanan · Ayca Turkoglu

Barbara Latham · Barbara Mellor · Barbara Thanni · Barbara Zybutz · Barry Norton · Bartolomie Tyszka · Belinda Farrell · Ben Paynter · Ben Schofield · Ben Smith · Ben Thornton · Benjamin Judge · Benjamin Morris · Blanka Stoltz · Bob Hill · Brenda Scott · Brendan McIntyre · Briallen Hopper · Bruce Ackers · Bruce Millar · Bruce & Maggie Holmes

C Baker · C Mieville · Calum Colley · Candy Says Juju Sophie · Cara & Bali Haque · Carole JS Russo · Caroline Adie · Caroline Perry · Caroline Rigby · Carolyn A Schroeder · Cath Drummond · Cecily Maude · Charles Lambert · Charles Rowley · Charlotte Baines · Charlotte Holtam · Charlotte Ryland · Charlotte Whittle · Chris Day · Chris Hancox · Chris Radley · Chris Stevenson · Chris Wood · Chris Elcock · Christina Baum · Christina MacSweeney · Christina Scholz · Christine Lovell · Christine Luker · Christopher Allen · Christopher Marlow · Ciara Ní Riain · Ciarán Oman · Claire Fuller · Claire Mitchell · Claire Tranah · Clare Fisher · Clare Keates · Clare Lucas · Clarissa Botsford · Claudio Guerri · Clifford Posner · Clive Bellingham · Colin Burrow · Collette Eales · Courtney Lilly · Craig Barney

Dan Pope · Daniel Carpenter · Daniel Gillespie · Daniel Hahn · Daniel Hugill · Daniel Lipscombe · Daniel Sheldrake · Daniel Venn · Daniel James Fraser · Daniela Steierberg · Dave Lander · David Archer · David Breuer · David Eales · David Gould · David Hedges · David Higgins · David Johnson-Davies · David Roberts · David Smith · Dawn Mazarakis · Debbie Pinfold · Deborah Bygrave · Deborah Jacob · Deborah Smith · Delia Cowley · Denise Jones · Denise Muir · Denise Sewell · Diana Brighouse · DW Wilson & A Howard

Eddie Dick · Edward Baggs · Eileen Buttle · EJ Baker · Elaine Martel · Elaine Rassaby · Eleanor Maier · Elina Zicmane · Eliza O’Toole · Elizabeth Draper · Elizabeth Polonsky · Emily Jeremiah · Emily Taylor · Emily Williams · Emily Yaewon Lee & Gregory Limpens · Emma Bielecki · Emma Kenneally · Emma Teale · Emma Timpany · Eva Tobler-Zumstein · Evgenia Loginova · Ewan Tant

Fawzia Kane · Ferdinand Craig Hall · Fi McMillan · Fiona Doepel · Fiona Graham · Fiona Powlett Smith · Fiona Quinn · Florian Andrews · Fran Sanderson · Frances Chapman · Francesca Bray · Francis Taylor · Francisco Vilhena · Freya Carr

G Thrower · Gale Pryor · Garry Wilson · Gavin Collins · Gawain Espley · Gemma Tipton · Genevra Richardson · Geoffrey Fletcher · George McCaig · George Savona · George Wilkinson · George Sandison & Daniela Laterza · Georgia Panteli · Geraldine Brodie · Gill Boag-Munroe · Gillian Doherty · Gillian Jondorf · Gillian Spencer · Gillian Stern · Giselle Maynard · Gloria Sully · Glyn Ridgley · Gordon Cameron · Gordon Campbell · Gordon Mackechnie · Graham Hardwick · Graham & Steph Parslow · Graham R Foster · Gwyn Wallace