Matthew Kneale takes us on a journey around today's uncertain world. From England to South America, China to the Middle East, the United States to Africa, Kneale applies his gifts as a master storyteller, vividly capturing the lives of ordinary people as they struggle to live, and to do the right thing, often managing neither.

By turns painful, moving and wickedly funny, Small Crimes in an Age of Abundance gains momentum until the world seems to be revealed to us in a new way. This is a groundbreaking work by a master of the uncertainties of our time.

`Every bit the equal of his Whitbread winner English Passengers , this collection of short stories is instantly engaging . . . With the precision of an assassin, Kneale propels his readers towards killer punchlines . . . the wit and ease of his style make this a thoroughly pleasurable way to pique one's conscience' Time Out

'Kneale does not judge. Like a film director in a silent sequence, he reveals. He is witty, compassionate; he understands all sides' Independent

`The title is a cunning one, anticipating ironies and paradoxes that run through this collection of stories . . . It is good to have [Matthew Kneale] back. He is a well-travelled writer, at ease in a wide range of fictional settings . . . a fine, subtle talent' Sunday Telegraph