Short stories

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Book SynopsisThirty stories, collected in one volume for the very first time, from one of the South's best known and most acclaimed short story writers. With his signature darkly acerbic and sharp-witted humor, George Singleton has built a reputation as one of the most astute and wise observers of the South. Now Tom Franklin introduces this master of the form with a compilation of acclaimed and prize-winning short fiction spanning twenty years and eight collections, including stories originally published in outlets like the Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, Playboy, the Georgia Review, the Southern Review, and many more. A lovelorn and chatty euthanasia vet arrives at a couples’ house to put down their dog, Probate; a father-to-be searches his workplace—a bar—for a replacement sonogram after recording an episode of Bonanza over the original; an unlikely romance sparks between a librarian and a professional bowler while they compete to win an RV; a father takes his son to visit the many ex-girlfriends that could have been his mother. These stories bear the influence of Flannery O’Connor and Raymond Carver, at other times Lewis Nordan and Donald Barthelme, and touch on the mysteries of childhood, the complexities of human relationships, and the absurdity of everyday life, its inexorable defeats and small triumphs. Assembled here for the very first time, You Want More showcases the body of work, hilarious and incisive, that has cemented George Singleton’s place among the South’s greatest living writers.Trade Review"Singleton brings together his best work along with one new story in this smashing collection that combines satire, tragicomic premises, and small-town South Carolina locales. Items as innocuous as caulk or a VHS tape become the focus of droll yet moving meditations on the foibles of modern life or the misery of a marriage’s disintegration...Fans and newcomers alike will rejoice in reading these highlights from a Southern literary master." ―Publishers Weekly, Starred "Singleton’s fellow writers regard his work with an affection bordering on awe, but both comic writing and short fiction are underrated forms, which is how Singleton has become something like the John Prine or Tom Waits of Southern scribes: revered, honored, and esteemed but almost criminally underappreciated. Indeed, Singleton’s work is too original, too wildly hilarious and inventive to be imitated." ―Chapter16 "Although not presented chronologically by original publication date, there is a thoughtful ordering to the stories nonetheless, or rather, a heartbeat that rises and falls only to rise again throughout the collection. The final piece, “What Could Have Been?” is a story written as driving instructions giving way to directions to access life-defining memories. In this treasure trove of a collection, readers are directed to revisit and celebrate all that has been in Singleton’s career-defining work as sage storyteller and as chronicler and inquisitor of southern bedlam." ―Southern Review of Books "These stories have absurdist energy, wit, and inventiveness to burn, but antic comedy is their mode and métier, not their sole aim or reason for being. Singleton's work doesn't wear literariness on its sleeve; even when he channels canonical writers, as in "John Cheever, Rest in Peace," he does so in a way that's literal and can seem almost anti-literary—making the grandly metaphorical, life-spanning "The Swimmer" into a story in which a man suffers a heart attack on his riding mower and then, dead, cuts a gently arcing swath across his town before crashing into a silo. But these stories are often sneakily ambitious, sneakily moving. Singleton has Charles Portis' gift for writing a satire both ruthless and lined always with affection, and like that Southern icon, he's a master of and evangelist for the joys and idiosyncrasies of speech, especially the loquacious talk of barrooms and Little League fields and scrapbooking shops. For the uninitiated, a wonderful introduction to a Southern original." ―Kirkus Reviews, Starred "A greatest-hits album from a writer whose stories are like epic spitballs from the back of the class: high-arcing and unbearably funny protests against the absurdities of everyday life." ―Jonathan Miles, Garden & Gun "In his brilliant mix of comedy and tragedy and deep tenderness for the most “minor” characters among us, George Singleton is nothing less than the Shakespeare of South Carolina." ―Margaret Renkl, author of Late Migrations "George Singleton is one of the funniest writers in America. He's also the writer most attuned to the American freakshow―its hilarity, its hopes, its heartbreak. His fiction has mattered, a lot, for as long as he's been writing it, but it's never mattered more than now. You Want More is a major book from a major writer."―Brock Clarke, author of Who Are You, Calvin Bledsoe? "People always ask what the one book you’d take to a deserted island. For me, it might be this one." ―David Joy, author of When These Mountains Burn "Over his career, George Singleton has written unruly characters living unruly lives. His depictions of the American South―in particular the everyday tumult of white blue-collar men and women struggling to come to terms with this strange and chaotic world― are both tragic and comic, heartbreaking, surreal, and―when least expected―weirdly ebullient. Singleton is a brilliant storyteller; his vision is crystal clear and wonderfully warped." ―Julianna Baggott, author of Burn "Singleton’s South doesn’t look like anybody else’s." —The Atlanta-Journal Constitution "A disturbingly askew vision of the South." ―Entertainment Weekly "George Singleton is a madman. He's also one of the most talented writers the South has turned out in decades." —The Charleston Post and Courier

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Book SynopsisCompleting his celebrated novels-in-stories triptych, begun with Good People and A Better Class of People, Robert Lopez delivers the third installment, The Best People, which follows a man who made the mistake of being born and is trying to make the best of that mistakeIn an uncanny world where linear time is nonexistent and everyone he meets is either Esperanza, Sofia, or Manny, the unnamed narrator wrestles with his past lives, his abusive upbringing, his sexual proclivities, his obsession with cleanliness, and how to stop the world from breaking in. With his signature unconventional storytelling and beguiling prose, Robert Lopez delivers a no-holds-barred, whiplash-fast polyphonic novel for the ages.

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Book SynopsisReligious and ethnic conflict may be the Horn of Africa's most enduring recent legacy. But beneath its recent history of war and displacement lies human stories—families, clans, lovers, neighbors, and friends, all bound together through common cultural, religious, and historical ties. The Lion's Binding Oath, Ahmed Ismail Yusuf's collection of short stories, introduces readers to the people of Somalia and their struggles: their humanity, faith, identity, friendship, and family bonds, as whispers of war grow louder around them. Through stories that span the years before and during Somali's civil war, Yusuf weaves together Somalia's political, social, and religious conflicts with portrayals of the country's love of poetry, music, and soccer. Yusuf's collection is a powerful examination of love and resilience in a country torn apart by war, and written with deep compassion for the lives of its characters. Ahmed Ismail Yusuf has lived in Minneapolis since fleeing Somalia in the late 80s. He did not speak English when he arrived, he was a high-school dropout, and he was not sure what his actual age was. Today he has two college degrees and is the author of Somalis in Minnesota, published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press. In 2017, The History Theatre of St. Paul, Minnesota produced his short play, “A Crack in the Sky,” a memoir about how Yusuf found inspiration in Maya Angelou and Muhammad Ali during his early days as an immigrant to the U.S.Trade Review"While Yusuf’s book is fiction, he incorporates significant facts into his storytelling. In this way, The Lion’s Binding Oath becomes not just entertainment, but also a creative disclosure about Somalia’s people, culture, and history." —New Pages"Yusuf draws us in with descriptions that bring beauty to minute details....In tone recalling Maya Angelou's Gather Together in My Name, this work will appeal to readers of literary and African fiction." — Library Journal"[...]Yusuf is unquestionably talented, with a knack for stories focused on injustice and the anxiety of separation, be it over time or distance. [...] Informative and direct storytelling from a corner of Africa that's poorly understood in the West." Kirkus"This mature debut is graphic...as it reveals how children grow up around violence and war. They still play, learn, tell stories, and try to get along despite threats and the police presence in their everyday lives. For readers interested in soccer and international affairs, this thin volume will enhance fiction collections." — School Library JournalWith their focus on youthful soccer stars or childhood friendships, as well as their simple language and pastoral settings, the tales that begin the loosely linked stories of “Lion’s Binding Oath” lull readers into a false sense of security. But by the end of the collection, it is clear that being young or living in a rural area can’t protect Somalians from more than three decades of civil war. Man or woman, adult or child, teacher or reluctant soldier, no one in “Lion’s Binding Oath” is safe. Many stories suggest that if members of Somalia’s various factions could learn to live together as its animals have, the world would be a better place. The most arresting example of that is the title story. Reminiscent of Yann Martel’s “Life of Pi,” it’s the last and best story in Yusuf’s collection."...compelling tales covering many recent experiences of [Yusuf's] beleaguered people..." — Minnesota Alumni MagazineTable of ContentsTABLE OF CONTENTS A Slow Moving Night 1-19 The Mayxaano Chronicles 1. A Man of Means 2. Don’t Lose 3. A Thorn in the Sole 4. A Whip of Words 21-50 5. Dissonance 51-71 A Delicate Hope 73-97 The Vulture Has Landed The Lion’s Binding Oath 99-125

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisFrom a celebrated master of the Southern Gothic comes a last collection of hard-hitting short fiction, his final posthumous work Beloved for his novels Twilight, The Long Home, and The Lost Country and his groundbreaking collection I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down, William Gay returns with one final posthumous collection of short stories, adapted from the archive found after his death in February 2012. In addition to previously unpublished short stories, Stories from the Attic includes fragments from two of the unpublished novels that were works in progress at the time of his death. Marked by his signature skill and bare-knuckled insight, this collection is a must-read for William Gay devotees and fans of Southern short fiction.Trade ReviewPraise for William Gay"Gay’s great abilities in character building, richness of language and storytelling are on full display.” -Charles Frazier, author of Varina“William Gay is richly gifted: a seemingly effortless storyteller…a writer of prose that’s fiercely wrought, pungent in detail yet poetic in the most welcome sense.” —The New York Times Book Review"Gay’s style was fully formed: sinister and lovely, dark and atmospheric, blood-soaked and word-drunk. He fit squarely in the Southern Gothic tradition, but the languid, unrolling richness of his language made the stories and novels that followed feel fresh, a rebirth of a genre prone to pale imitations." -Wall Street Journal"The pleasure that Gay, a self-educated Vietnam veteran, takes from language is frequently a thing of beauty...A Dickensian feel for character makes his stories surge with life while the sharp dialogue is furious, funny and very southern. ....Gay, an instinctive original, had the spark of natural genius." -The Irish Times"William Gay could write a grocery list and make it sing and burn off the pages in equal measure." -Heavy Feather Review"William Gay is a flat-out monster." -Parnassus Recommended Reads“A writer of striking talent.” —Chicago Tribune“Writers like Flannery O’Connor or William Faulkner would welcome Gay as their peer for getting characters so entangled in the roots of a family tree.” —Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

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Book Synopsis“The people in these stories need Meg Pokrass. Their lives are tough but her imagination is the fire-lasso that can save them, save us.” -Bob Hicok, author of Elegy Owed and Sex & LoveA sixteen-year-old transplanted Pennsylvanian navigates sunburn and heartbreak in equal measure while falling in love with a very tan ghost. A girl with drunk scribbles on her shoes searches for fragments of an old flame inside the boy at the mall food court. And a female circus contortionist, daughter of a failed clown, comes to terms with the first law of romantic relationships: Once in a hole, stop digging.In First Law of Holes, award-winning author Meg Pokrass delivers a stunning selection of stories from the past fourteen years of her flash fiction career, tackling themes of belonging, obsession, messy love and loneliness with her trademark, unconventional storytelling.

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Book Synopsis“A vital voice in the short story, telling us new truths with deep humanity." –George Saunders Celebrated Nigerian-born writer E.C. Osondu delivers a short-story collection of nimble dexterity and startling originality in his BOA Short Fiction Prize-winning Alien Stories. These eighteen startling stories, each centered around an encounter with the unexpected, explore what it means to be an alien. With a nod to the dual meaning of alien as both foreigner and extraterrestrial, Osondu turns familiar science-fiction tropes and immigration narratives on their heads, blending one with the other to call forth a whirlwind of otherness. With wry observations about society and human nature, in shifting landscapes from Africa to America to outer space and back again, Alien Stories breaks down the concept of foreignness to reveal what unites us all as ‘aliens’ within a complex and interconnected universe.Trade ReviewPraise for E. C. Osondu“A vital voice in the short story, telling us new truths with deep humanity."–George Saunders, author of Lincoln in the Bardo“Osondu looks at the human condition in all its poignant absurdity; with observant wonder and subtle humor, he portrays our capacity for heartbreak, resilience, love, courage, sorrow, and most of all, our unique capacity for hope and hopelessness rolled together.”—Mary Gaitskill, author of This Is Pleasure“E.C. Osondu has written uncannily direct stories with nothing ‘posed’ about them. This is a collection of real power, surprise, and harsh beauty.”—Amy Hempel, author of Sing to ItPraise for Voice of America“There is room here for every style of storytelling, from folktale to crime tale to satire, to the very sombre and sad – and just when you think the writer has surely exhausted his bag of uproariously funny observations of street life in Lagos, or of immigrant experience in America, he unpacks more.”—The Guardian“His characters may dream about America, but E. C. Osondu’s bracing portrayal of life in Africa is the heart of this debut story collection.”—The New York Times“Meticulous and energetic, these stories brim with stubborn hope sprung free from life’s dark realities.”—Elle“Osondu’s excellent short stories, set in both Nigeria and the U.S., reveal the vast cultural chasm that persists between our countries . . . These richly shaded tales explore old ways and new, wealth and poverty, myth, and misapprehension.”—Booklist“Osondu juxtaposes the richness and desperation of life ‘on the ground’ in Africa with the actualities of the American dream . . . This book is essential.”—Library JournalPraise for This House Is Not For Sale“Osondu’s novel captures the depth and breadth of African society in a neighborhood in a nameless country where fable-like stories revolve around a marvelous ancestral house run by the narrator’s grandfather.”—Publishers Weekly, ★ Starred Review“A very modern, compassionate voice . . . Osondu is ceaseless in his willingness to examine the human condition in all its glories and frailties.”—Kirkus“Clearly drawing on the culture of traditional oral storytelling, a refrain of unidentified voices whispering and gossiping appears regularly throughout the book. This recalls a classical Greek chorus, punctuating what is otherwise the voice of a single narrator; that of one of Grandpa's grandchildren, an eagle-eyed child who watches the lives of those around him unfold. His voice is like the string of a necklace on which a host of beads – the individual chapters – are strung.”—The Independent

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book Synopsis

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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