Sue Vickerman
About ‘Special Needs’ http://www.cinnamonpress.com/special-needs/
A laugh out loud page-turner brimming with poignancy and acute observations...
In a multi-cultural community somewhere in the North, teaching is not the only thing that occupies the minds of this vibrant cast of teachers and dreamers; adults every bit as in need of self-discovery as their teenage charges and offspring. A tour de force about family, race, sexual identity, lesbianism and life at the chalk-face, Special Needs is an always intelligent, often hilarious and unerringly humane debut, alive with larger-than-life but thoroughly credible characters, from an accomplished and mature voice.
About Sue Vickerman http://www.sukithelifemodel.co.uk/about-sue-vickerman
Sue Vickerman has had poetry and prose published in her own name and in the name of her created persona Suki the life model, http://www.sukithelifemodel.co.uk whose blog discussing Art, Life, Love and Living Alone has an international following. Suki http://www.sukithelifemodel.co.uk/about-me has serialised her autobiography (Part I) A SMALL LIFE http://www.asmalllife.co.uk/ online, and is collaborating with four visual artists on a limited-edition print book of its sequel TWO SMALL LIVES http://www.twosmalllives.co.uk. See all of Sue Vickerman’s and Suki’s publications http://www.sukithelifemodel.co.uk/publications (with links to reviews).
Chapter 1
The woman leads the way into a cramped, overheated room. The fringe of her vast smock offers glimpses of mottled ankles. Her wiry orange hair is caught back loosely in a silk scarf. Polished stones dangle from her neck and ears; more are set into silver rings that sink into the flesh of her fingers. She is perspiring profusely.
‘I need a head massage,’ says Joan.
The woman closes the door. ‘Let’s have a quick look at your cards first. See where we are.’ Shifting a pile of magazines from the coffee-table she sinks to the floor, her garment puffing out then deflating like a hovercraft powering down.
Joan seats herself on a floor-cushion opposite, clunking her steamed-up glasses onto the table. They are heavy-framed, functional, masculine. An incense stick is smouldering oppressively in front of an ornamental Buddha. Joan undoes her double-breasted blazer, then the top button of her shirt, wondering at what age hot flushes start.
The woman’s hands flit over the colourful cards, sorting them, flipping them up and down. ‘Here.’ She flashes one. ‘Same one as the last two sessions. There’s a special somebody out there, Joan.’
‘You said medical, last time.’
‘I did, didn’t I? Ah yes. There it is. Someone in the medical field.’ The woman closely scrutinises a card. ‘Or horse-related. Someone with a lot of money anyway.’
‘I’m not bothered about money. I just want someone who...’ Joan trails off. ‘If one of these teaching posts comes through in the States, I could have a new life by September.’
A laugh out loud page-turner brimming with poignancy and acute observations...
In a multi-cultural community somewhere in the North, teaching is not the only thing that occupies the minds of this vibrant cast of teachers and dreamers; adults every bit as in need of self-discovery as their teenage charges and offspring. A tour de force about family, race, sexual identity, lesbianism and life at the chalk-face, Special Needs is an always intelligent, often hilarious and unerringly humane debut, alive with larger-than-life but thoroughly credible characters, from an accomplished and mature voice.
About Sue Vickerman http://www.sukithelifemodel.co.uk/about-sue-vickerman
Sue Vickerman has had poetry and prose published in her own name and in the name of her created persona Suki the life model, http://www.sukithelifemodel.co.uk whose blog discussing Art, Life, Love and Living Alone has an international following. Suki http://www.sukithelifemodel.co.uk/about-me has serialised her autobiography (Part I) A SMALL LIFE http://www.asmalllife.co.uk/ online, and is collaborating with four visual artists on a limited-edition print book of its sequel TWO SMALL LIVES http://www.twosmalllives.co.uk. See all of Sue Vickerman’s and Suki’s publications http://www.sukithelifemodel.co.uk/publications (with links to reviews).
Chapter 1
The woman leads the way into a cramped, overheated room. The fringe of her vast smock offers glimpses of mottled ankles. Her wiry orange hair is caught back loosely in a silk scarf. Polished stones dangle from her neck and ears; more are set into silver rings that sink into the flesh of her fingers. She is perspiring profusely.
‘I need a head massage,’ says Joan.
The woman closes the door. ‘Let’s have a quick look at your cards first. See where we are.’ Shifting a pile of magazines from the coffee-table she sinks to the floor, her garment puffing out then deflating like a hovercraft powering down.
Joan seats herself on a floor-cushion opposite, clunking her steamed-up glasses onto the table. They are heavy-framed, functional, masculine. An incense stick is smouldering oppressively in front of an ornamental Buddha. Joan undoes her double-breasted blazer, then the top button of her shirt, wondering at what age hot flushes start.
The woman’s hands flit over the colourful cards, sorting them, flipping them up and down. ‘Here.’ She flashes one. ‘Same one as the last two sessions. There’s a special somebody out there, Joan.’
‘You said medical, last time.’
‘I did, didn’t I? Ah yes. There it is. Someone in the medical field.’ The woman closely scrutinises a card. ‘Or horse-related. Someone with a lot of money anyway.’
‘I’m not bothered about money. I just want someone who...’ Joan trails off. ‘If one of these teaching posts comes through in the States, I could have a new life by September.’