Five Go to Switzerland & Other Stories by Nigel Jarrett

A daughter curious about her widowed father’s love life; a woman survivor of domestic abuse; a wife who learns something startling about her jazz-loving husband at his funeral; an old actor facing memory loss; a couple whose son was executed by militants; a black American academic staying in Wordsworth country while his university investigates a student complaint; an early 20th-century scullery maid being taught to read by a sinister manservant… and more.

In his fourth wide-ranging and vivid collection, award-winning writer Nigel Jarrett disturbs the clear, slow-flowing waters of ordinary lives to reveal their complications and unresolved tensions, and to celebrate those who emerge from tribulation chastened but unvanquished.

‘Here are vivid and vital stories that crackle like bushfire and ignite delight… I read them with unbridled pleasure and holy envy.’

Jon Gower

‘Jarrett’s stories take seemingly ordinary or innocent situations and gently tease out their emotional complexity.’

Lesley McDowell, The Independent



‘Explaining what Jarrett does with language is a bit like trying to map gossamer with a chunky felt-tip.’

Mary-Ann Constantine