A review by nferre
The Clothes They Stood Up in and the Lady and the Van by Alan Bennett

3.0

The Clothes They Stood Up In is a novella about a old curmudgeonly British couple, very stead in their stale ways, who come home from a night at the opera to find the contents of their apartment have vanished. Books, bills, pots, pans, furniture and toilet paper. The apartment had been wiped clean. They were literally left with the clothes they stood up in.... and with themselves. Wiped of all the kitsch they accumulated over the years they had a moment to look around and see themselves in a different light. While one of them took advantage of this, the other one did not. The ending is unusual, and while the writing is humorous, the theme is a bit sad.

The author lays out the story, doesn't pontificate or elaborate, there are no musings or thoughts - just a quick, fast, wittily written story.