Published in Great Britain in 2016 by

      Canongate Books Ltd, 14 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1TE

       www.canongate.tv

      This digital edition first published in 2016 by Canongate Books

      Copyright © Michel Faber, 2016

      The moral right of the author has been asserted

       British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

      A catalogue record for this book is available on request from the British Library

      ISBN 978 1 78211 854 1

       eISBN 978 1 78211 855 8

      Typeset in Plantin 10/14 pt by Palimpsest Book

      Production Ltd, Falkirk, Stirlingshire

      Contents

       Foreword

       I

       Of Old Age, In Our Sleep

       Old Bird, Not Very Well

       Lucky

       [indecipherable] kappa

       Tests

       His Hands Were Shaking

       Contraindications

       Change Of Life

       Prints

       Right There On The Floor

       Remission

       Lebensraum

       Since You Last Visited Sopot

       Reward

       Gifts From Exotic Places

       Cute

       Helpmeet

       Such A Simple Thing I Could Have Fixed

       Lucencies

       The Second-Last Time

       Refractory

       Old People In Hospital

       Darling Little Dress

       Escape Attempts

       Nipples

       Ten Tumours On Your Scalp

       Switzerland

       Or, If Only

       Another Season

       Cowboys

       Fluid Balance

       Purring

       The Time You Chose

       Tight Pullover

       II

       F.W. Paine Ltd, Bryson House, Horace Road, Kingston

       Amateur

       You Were Ugly

       Your Ashes

       You Loved To Dance

       Rubbing It In

       Restraining Order

       Account Holder

       Don’t Hesitate To Ask