- Paperback: 240 pages
- Publisher: David R. Godine Publisher Inc; Reissue edition (11 Oct 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0879233745
- ISBN-13: 978-0879233747
- Product Dimensions: 20.9 x 14.1 x 1.9 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 825,745 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Synopsis
Five short stories depict love, misfortune and the challenge of midwestern life.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
'The Pedersen Kid' (the first story) is a brilliantly original, stunningly powerful and beautifully realised piece of fiction. It has not left my mind for a long after reading it - some two years ago now. William H Gass has a poetic sensibility that I have not seen approached since Carson McCullers - true, I haven't read everything, but from what I have read Gass is an outstanding Twentieth Century Writer and perceptive describer of the current condition.
The second-half of the Twentieth Century; not very many truly great writers; because it is not an age that allows for great artists; a dumbed down, all penetrating public culture and media hype machine that ruins so many with potential. Gass appears to have avoided this. He has a real poetic eye for Truth. To be honest I've never read anything like it. Most authors lose their nerve and give happy endings, or sentimental tragic ones. Gass does neither. A wonderful book that has sent me to read more of his work. Like all the greatest writers he could not be more Iowan, or more universal. I have not been this interested in an American author since Melville.
The second-half of the Twentieth Century; not very many truly great writers; because it is not an age that allows for great artists; a dumbed down, all penetrating public culture and media hype machine that ruins so many with potential. Gass appears to have avoided this. He has a real poetic eye for Truth. To be honest I've never read anything like it. Most authors lose their nerve and give happy endings, or sentimental tragic ones. Gass does neither. A wonderful book that has sent me to read more of his work. Like all the greatest writers he could not be more Iowan, or more universal. I have not been this interested in an American author since Melville.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
7 reviews
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
why has this gone out of print
9 Nov 1999
Format:Paperback
It seems impossible that a collection of stories as ground breaking as these could disappear from the bookshelves, but here it is. I came on to find out about ordering a copy but found the publisher was out! Then let me say, having read it a few times already that while In the Heart of the Heart of the Country gets and deserves much praise in this collection, The Pederson Kid is MASTERFul in its language, pacing and style. Order of Insects also is rumination as short story. I am in love with this book and like your true love, it will always be there.
26 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Please Keep Early Gass in Print, Vote 2
18 Jan 2000
Format:Paperback
Early William H. Gass is essential. This fairly straightforward book is early Gass. Gass after Omensetter is a very personal taste. Fame, even the tiny minor academic variety, infects human beings oddly. Gass only had a few stories to tell. This book matters. Please keep the great early Gass alive/available & do not worry much about the later still quite interesting but arrogant blatting.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
A Mass of Gass
5 Mar 2008
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This collection of long short stories will not let you relax while you read. As with the other Gass I've read, he wants to make you think deeply. There are no clear cut endings, but these aren't clear cut stories.
The best thing about this edition (ISBN 0879233745) is the preface by Gass himself. I usually save such for reading as an afterword (too many prefaces and introductions have too many spoilers). This can be read first or last, but lets you a little more into his thoughts.
His use of language lets you enjoy stories that wouldn't normally hold your interest.
The best thing about this edition (ISBN 0879233745) is the preface by Gass himself. I usually save such for reading as an afterword (too many prefaces and introductions have too many spoilers). This can be read first or last, but lets you a little more into his thoughts.
His use of language lets you enjoy stories that wouldn't normally hold your interest.
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