When accomplished poet, Mick Evans, turns his attention to prose, we might know that what we will be reading will be surprising, original and brimming with humanity. Short Cuts might have been written with a dagger masquerading as a pen or pen wrestling with its dagger within. The result is intense, immersive and lyrical. These extraordinary pieces explore a landscape of extreme emotion that might, at first sight, appear to come from a chaotic imagination, but which soon reveal an acute intelligence and quick wit at work across the range of human feeling.

The granular attention to human flaws and quirks, observed with as much compassion as honesty, and written with such inventiveness and style makes Short Cuts a compelling and unmissable collection.