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Introduced by Zadie Smith, this collection of 19 stories by young Americans shows a wide variety of style but confines itself mostly to the theme of the family. In these tales a generation of young people suffer. The idea of the American family is shredded: its traditions, its loving siblings, its holidays and retirement to Florida. Using the first person, children talk of their brothers and sisters and their parents sometimes with a detached and baffled tone and, occasionally, with tenderness. More often there is violence but a far more subtle and cruel manifestation of evil than the gun battles one might expect. In Amanda Davis's 'Faith or Tips For The Successful Young Lady', a damaged girl hints at an episode of dreadful abuse. The author lists the tips for social charm: 'A lady thinks carefully before speaking: ugly thoughts set free can never be recaptured', 'Cucumbers make the eyes less puffy...'. The young lady of her story bears these smug maxims in mind while enduring loneliness and misery. Appalling physical pain is described in David Foster Wallace's 'Incantations of Burned Children'. 'The Daddy' and 'The Mummy' do not mean to scald and burn their baby but, to half quote Philip Larkin, they do. One story, again narrated by the main character, expresses a kind of coming of age when a young man discovers what loving means as opposed to being in love. But, hardly surprisingly, there is far more lust than love in these pages. A M Homes's story is as accomplished as one would expect from this writer and captures the unflinching sexual experimentation of the young. As a showcase for talent the collection succeeds. There are stories of fantasy and science fiction, a brilliant subversion of punctuation and even a story using the form of a comprehension test. Very clever, very depressing. (Kirkus UK)
Product Description
This volume brings together the most promising young American authors, with a penchant for writing about such slippery subjects as snakes, letter-writing dogs, chicken livers and indoor shopping malls.
See all Product Description
Introduced by Zadie Smith, this collection of 19 stories by young Americans shows a wide variety of style but confines itself mostly to the theme of the family. In these tales a generation of young people suffer. The idea of the American family is shredded: its traditions, its loving siblings, its holidays and retirement to Florida. Using the first person, children talk of their brothers and sisters and their parents sometimes with a detached and baffled tone and, occasionally, with tenderness. More often there is violence but a far more subtle and cruel manifestation of evil than the gun battles one might expect. In Amanda Davis's 'Faith or Tips For The Successful Young Lady', a damaged girl hints at an episode of dreadful abuse. The author lists the tips for social charm: 'A lady thinks carefully before speaking: ugly thoughts set free can never be recaptured', 'Cucumbers make the eyes less puffy...'. The young lady of her story bears these smug maxims in mind while enduring loneliness and misery. Appalling physical pain is described in David Foster Wallace's 'Incantations of Burned Children'. 'The Daddy' and 'The Mummy' do not mean to scald and burn their baby but, to half quote Philip Larkin, they do. One story, again narrated by the main character, expresses a kind of coming of age when a young man discovers what loving means as opposed to being in love. But, hardly surprisingly, there is far more lust than love in these pages. A M Homes's story is as accomplished as one would expect from this writer and captures the unflinching sexual experimentation of the young. As a showcase for talent the collection succeeds. There are stories of fantasy and science fiction, a brilliant subversion of punctuation and even a story using the form of a comprehension test. Very clever, very depressing. (Kirkus UK)
Product Description
This volume brings together the most promising young American authors, with a penchant for writing about such slippery subjects as snakes, letter-writing dogs, chicken livers and indoor shopping malls.
See all Product Description