Pub 1995, by Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-17457-4
Envy is a collection of thirteen stories about urban experience and escape. A woman charges her lover for sex, a bereavement uncovers a passionate friendship, the distribution of free EEC cheese and butter prompts a resignation, and a young mother fantasises about sleep. Furthermore: a budgerigar is murdered, a grocer gets fresh and a disenchanted box-office clerk attends a Fantasy Space Party decked in blue flip-flops and cellophane.
‘The surreal situations and bleak humour of Lynne Bryan’s stories stand out from the crowd.’ Vogue
‘The writing is black, scapel-subtle… A first collection from a powerful new writer.’ – Daily Telegraph
‘The stories bristle with energy and, in the most unexpected places, with bright shafts of humour and hope.’ – The Sunday Times
‘These stories touch the universal and should be read by every man. In some, Bryan achieves reconciliation of love and life so powerful it scares and sears. Her prose too is beautifully worked, spare and, at its best, almost unbearably bleak. With this collection a terrible talent is born.’ Times
‘Kys, Kaerlighed og Kroner was adapted from A Regular Thing, a short story included in Envy At The Cheese Handout. Kys, Kaerlighed og Kroner was awarded Best Short Film 1999 by the Danish Film Academy.’
Steen falls in love with Katja. And she falls in love with him. They move in together. Sex is great, definitely the best Steen has ever had. But Katja charges him. Every time. Except for the first. When her rates go up faster than inflation, he realises he has to do something.
Directed by Louise Andreasen. Written by Louise Andreasen & Soren Frellesen
25min;35mm colour. Produced by M&M productions 1998
Shown at Athens, Cork, Hungary and London film festivals.