Best of
American-Fiction
2008
The Collected Stories
Lorrie Moore - 2008
Her ferociously funny, soulful stories tell of the gulf between men and women, the loneliness of the broken-hearted and the yearned-for, impossible intimacies we crave. Gathered here for the first time in a beautiful hardback edition is the complete stories along with three new and previously unpublished in book form: "Paper Losses", "The Juniper Tree", and "Debarking".
Northline
Willy Vlautin - 2008
But haunted by the mistakes of her past, and lacking any self-belief, her only comfort seems to come from the imaginary conversations she has with her hero, Paul Newman. But, as life crawls on and she finds work, small acts of kindness do start to reveal themselves, and slowly the chance of a new life begins to emerge. Full of memorable characters and imbued with a beautiful sense of yearning, Northline is an extraordinary portrait of small-town America and an emotional tour de force from an author praised for his 'compassion and warmth' (The Times).
Complete Works of Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Bierce - 2008
This comprehensive eBook is spiced with numerous illustrations, rare and forgotten texts, concise introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1)* Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Bierce's life and works.* Concise introductions to the collections and other texts* The rare novella THE DANCE OF DEATH appears here for the first time in digital print* ALL the short story collections, with individual contents tables* Featuring 475 tales, many appearing for the first time in digital print* Images of how the books were first printed, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts* Excellent formatting of the texts* Famous works such as COBWEBS FROM AN EMPTY SKULLare fully illustrated with their original artwork* Special chronological and alphabetical contents tables for the poetry, essays and the short stories* Easily locate the works you want to read* The complete non-fiction, with many scarce essays and newspaper articles* Includes Bierce's letters - spend hours exploring the author’s personal correspondence* Special criticism section, with essays evaluating Bierce’s contribution to literature* Also provides a unique ‘Biercian Texts’ section with interesting articles on the works and disappearance of Ambrose Bierce* Features a bonus full-length biography - discover Bierce's literary life* Scholarly ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genresCONTENTS:The NovellasTHE DANCE OF DEATHTHE MONK AND THE HANGMAN’S DAUGHTERTHE LAND BEYOND THE BLOWThe Short Story CollectionsTHE FIEND’S DELIGHTCOBWEBS FROM AN EMPTY SKULLPRESENT AT A HANGING, AND OTHER GHOST STORIESIN THE MIDST OF LIFE: TALES OF SOLDIERS AND CIVILIANSCAN SUCH THINGS BE?FANTASTIC FABLESNEGLIGIBLE TALESTHE PARENTICIDE CLUBTHE FOURTH ESTATETHE OCEAN WAVEKINGS OF BEASTSTWO ADMINISTRATIONSMISCELLANEOUS TALESThe Short StoriesLIST OF SHORT STORIES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDERLIST OF SHORT STORIES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDERThe Poetry CollectionsBLACK BEETLES IN AMBERSHAPES OF CLAYFABLES IN RHYMESOME ANTE-MORTEM EPITAPHSTHE SCRAP HEAPThe PoemsLIST OF POEMS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDERLIST OF POEMS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDERThe Non-FictionTHE SHADOW ON THE DIAL, AND OTHER ESSAYSTHE DEVIL’S DICTIONARYWRITE IT RIGHTASHES OF THE BEACON“ON WITH THE DANCE!”: A REVIEWA CYNIC LOOKS AT LIFETANGENTIAL VIEWSBITS OF AUTOBIOGRAPHYMISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES AND REVIEWSUNCOLLECTED ESSAYSThe EssaysLIST OF ESSA
Pelican Road
Howard Bahr - 2008
Along an isolated stretch of railway between Meridian, Mississippi, and New Orleans, Louisiana, two locomotives travel toward one another through the dark winter landscape. A.P. Dunn, engineer aboard the 4512 southbound freight, reminisces about the last trip he made through the snow. And though he can remember every detail about that voyage in 1923, what he can’t recall are the events of a few hours ago — where he ate breakfast, how he got the gash on his forehead, or what he did to make his crew treat him so strangely.On the northbound Silver Star, a luxury passenger train packed with returning college students and gift-bearing families, brakeman Artemus Kane has his own memories to contend with: French trenches and German snipers, a failed marriage, and a too-short layover spent with Anna, the brilliant and lonely woman he has just left behind in the Crescent City.In Pelican Road, Howard Bahr returns to his greatest theme — the tragic nobility of those attempting to overcome difficult situations through love, honor, and sacrifice — and shows that on the railway, catastrophe is never more than a distracted moment away.
Sleeping it Off in Rapid City
August Kleinzahler - 2008
Travel—actual and imaginary—remains a passion and inspiration, and in these pages the poet also finds “This sanctified ground / Here, yes, here / The dead solid center of the universe / At the heart of the heart of America.”
Peace
Richard Bausch - 2008
An icy rain, continuing unabated for days. Guided by a seventy-year-old Italian man in rope-soled shoes, three American soldiers are sent on a reconnaissance mission up the side of a steep hill that they discover, before very long, to be a mountain. As they climb, the old man's indeterminate loyalties only add to the terror and confusion that engulf them. Peace is a feat of storytelling from one of America's most acclaimed novelists: a powerful look at the corrosiveness of violence, the human cost of war, and the redemptive power of mercy.From the Trade Paperback edition.
Memphis Movie
Corey Mesler - 2008
For many years, he was successful, until directing a few box office bombs made him virtually unemployable. When an opportunity presents itself for a return to his hometown of Memphis, to direct a small, independent film, it is a return to his roots in more ways than one. Despite the fact that he’s greeted like a star, his homecoming is bittersweet. The novel begins on the onset of filming of what is temporarily called Memphis Movie. From day one, Eric feels stuck and unable to find his creative spark. He is helped along by a large cast of characters, some from his past and some from the filmmaking industry, including his partner, Sandy, who wrote the script for the movie. Their open relationship will be challenged by Eric’s return to his roots.Memphis Movie reads like a Robert Altman film, with many story strands making up the rich tapestry. The novel's central question: will Eric lose or find his soul in Memphis, a town where soul has so many meanings?
The North of God
Steve Stern - 2008
The result is a mesmerizing tour-de-force: In a boxcar crammed with Jews headed to a concentration camp, one man attempts to summon up a story vital enough to displace the horror. The story that comes out is ultimately a swirling, sweeping saga about the stirring obstinacy of the human spirit. And by confronting the ultimate horror with the mythology he has long celebrated, it may also be the crowning achievement of Stern's career.The Contemporary Art of the Novella series is designed to highlight work by major authors from around the world. In most instances, as with Imre Kertész, it showcases work never before published; in others, books are reprised that should never have gone out of print. It is intended that the series feature many well-known authors and some exciting new discoveries. And as with the original series, The Art of the Novella, each book is a beautifully packaged and inexpensive volume meant to celebrate the form and its practitioners.