«  first published in 1945, the stories collected under the title i am lazarus are a brilliant summation of the war experiences of anna kavan in blitz-era london, working among invalided soldiers at a ‘military neurosis centre’ in mill hill. kavan’s view of the capital and some of its war victims in this momentous era are typically original and oblique: ‘ lazarus’ is a patient revived from catatonia who somehow remains institutionalized; the blitz spirit is coolly stripped of cheeriness and never-say-die in ‘ glorious boys and ‘ our city’; there is a hithcockian horror story in ‘ the gannets’, while in ‘ who has desired the sea’ and ‘ the blackout’ the ‘shell-shocked’ have ultimately only seen war exacerbate old, long-suppressed psychological wounds. chilling but compassionate classics, the i am lazarus collection, republished now after many years, are essential documents of the time – and of anna kavan. ( from the book jacket, first british edition published in 1945). »