Mavis Belfrage, by Alasdair Gray (Bloomsbury, £5.99 in UK)

The title story of this dazzlingly satirical collection, and the five shorter pieces which accompany it, all exude the unique imagination, social commitment and beautifully clear, concise prose of this singular writer. Gray, a master polemicist and leader of the remarkable Scots writers who have revitalised British fiction while creating a tough, uncompromising, modern literature of their own, could well be modern fiction's last original. Even at its most absurd, a Gray narrative invariably resounds with devastating logic. "In Britain only snobs, perverts and the wholly despairing want friendship with richer or poorer folk" announces the narrator of "Money", while both the title story with its malcontent anti heroine and "Mr Godchild" demonstrate the ease with which Gray informs and entertains.