BOOKS / Paperbacks

Fates Worse Than Death by Kurt Vonnegut, Vintage pounds 6.99. In this 'autobiographical collage' started in Palm Sunday, Vonnegut pastes together images of George Bush, a dying planet, his mother's midnight mania, and fates worse than death that have justified bombing the innocent in Dresden, Vietnam, Libya (hear the sharp intake of breath) and Iraq. Vonnegut's sharp wit and intellect are tempered but not blunted by his honesty and humanity.

Meat: A Natural Symbol by Nick Fiddes, Routledge pounds 11.99. There's enough fleshy ammunition in this study of 'the human passion for meat' for all but the most vindictive vegetarians to dine out on, but disappointingly little about the symbolism of killing, cooking and eating flesh. The explanation that meat-consumption is an expression of our superiority over the rest of nature seems adequate but unsatisfying, a bit like a cheese sandwich when you want a juicy steak.

No Heroics, Please by Raymond Carver, Harvill pounds 7.99. Carver's stories about semi-rural working- class life have led to him being called 'the American Chekhov', and a couple of early stories will delight aficionados - otherwise, the poems and journalism in this barrel-scraping selection do little to enhance his reputation. He is too generous to be a good reviewer, revealing the same solidarity with losers and underdogs that characterises his fiction. Novices should start with that.

Fables of the Irish Intelligentsia by Nina Fitzpatrick, Minerva pounds 4.99. A crisp and delicate collection that won its author the lucrative Irish Times / Aer Lingus prize, which was then taken away again. A vigorous new story is included here, entitled (surprise, surprise) 'The Prize'.

My Life by Edith Piaf, Penguin pounds 4.99. In the last year of her life, wrecked by drugs and drink, Piaf dictated her memoirs to a French journalist. Experts concur that her memory is selective, unreliable and self-serving. None the less, a raw authenticity leaks through, offering glimpses of a brutal Parisian underworld, alcoholism and how to fritter away a fortune.