In the limbo bounded by rebellion and resignation, belonging and
solitude, Ed Allen's middle Americans seem to be either freely
adrift or uncomfortably vested in an exit strategy wholly
inadequate for their circumstances. These sixteen darkly humorous
stories gauge the tension between what we really feel and what we
outwardly express, what we should do and what we manage to get
done.
In "Celibacy-by-the-Atlantic," Phil negotiates a lingering,
low-intensity regret brought on by the annual family get-together
at his parents' beach house, where memories of his aimless,
privileged adolescence mingle with forebodings of his aimless,
privileged middle age. In "A Lover's Guide to Hospitals," Carl lies
in bed, pining over a stillborn romance through a moody, post-op
haze of painkillers. As a consoling needle through the heart, the
object of Carl's unrequited affections also turns out to be his
nurse.
In "Burt Osborne Rules the World," a precocious boy ponders his
childhood in "a world protected against anything you could imagine
doing to make it more interesting." Sensing that only more of the
same awaits him as an adult, Burt charts a different course--as a
class clown with a truly toxic sense of mischief. Others, like
Lydia in "Ralph Goes to Mexico," assert their individuality more
effortlessly, for they're just too naturally odd to be cowed by
convention. Lydia's dilemma is whether she should have her leukemic
cat stuffed and mounted or turned into a hat after he dies.
These lyrical tales celebrate the ordinary--and the not so
ordinary--with a flourish of Nabokovian wit that combines grandeur,
kitsch, and the author's broad empathy with his characters.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
