What Sort of Man [Paperback]

A searing exploration of modern masculinity in small-town New Zealand.

In Breton Dukes's potent collection, ordinary lives unravel amidst societal pressures. A young father, fueled by Ritalin, contemplates a dangerous leap. A teacher faces public shame after a career misstep. A carer navigates a fraught day, seeking solace for his troubled charge.

What Sort of Mandelves into the heart of contemporary struggles, revealing the fragility and resilience of men grappling with identity, relationships, and the weight of expectation. These stories, set against the backdrop of Dunedin, New Zealand, offer a raw and unflinching look at the human condition. Perfect for readers of literary fiction seekingshort stories with emotional depthandthought-provoking social commentary.

'These are finely focused stories, done with the confidence of a writer who knows precisely what he wants to show, and how to show it. Their telling, and their method of telling, is confidently his own.' —Vincent O'Sullivan,Landfall Review Online
 'Life is a series of isolations, now more than ever, and the way that Dukes captures, with photo-perfect detail, the soul of a person in isolation, is not just excellent, but relevant. We’re not at our most alone when we’re not around other people, we’re at our most alone when we can’t even sit with ourselves.' —Sam Brooks,The SpinoffIn 2011Breton Dukes’first collection of critically acclaimed short stories,Bird North, was published. That year, Breton was also the recipient of the Creative New Zealand Louis Johnson Writer’s Bursary.Empty Bones(2014), a novella and five short stories, was his second book. Breton lives with his wife in Kaikorai Valley, Dunedin. He is a telephonist for the government. His interests include rabbit shooting, tenting, and cookery.For short fiction lovers.