The tortured life of Anna Kavan brought her some reward in terms of great pieces of art. Her drug addiction bore fruit in the Julia & The Bazooka collection of stories - this companion volume recalls her experiences of life in the asylum or the sanitorium. Her legendary story, I Am Lazarus is one of fourteen included here and not seen in print since the forties. These are powerful, haunting works: what can be harrowing at times is offset by the richness of human sympathy in Kavan's approach and her unique skill as a writer.