Doctor of Silence (Paperback, 1st ed)

Twenty-seven taut short stories that live up to the promise of this poet and essayist's first collection (A Transparent Tree, 1985). Kelly writes of small moments with large intent - most of these pieces are no more than a few pages, but their dramatic impact is great. In the title story, a village boy yearns to learn of the past from an elder - and then gradually understands the old man's silence to be the greatest teacher of all. Among the most surreal is "The Hole": a suburban housewife named Sonia simply disappears one day after burning one of her dresses while ironing. Despite a frantic search, no trace of her can be found, and then, one day, a letter arrives for her husband. Sonia explains that she is in the place "where the dead go, when people die who haven't done anything special with their lives. . .You up there would call the place hell. But there's no suffering here, and people make love and have a good time." And in "Dog," Kelly tells a quite hilarious tale of karma, good and bad: back in the 19th century, a Reverend Issachar Weekes threw a shivering mutt out of his church one wretched winter Sunday. Sure enough, in his next life the good Reverend comes back as a dog himself - locked in a car on a suburban 20th-century street, staring up sweetly as passers-by make faces through the windows. Despite owing a debt to Borges (particularly the Borges of Dreamtigers), Kelly's fictions stand on their own as mystical glimpses of a rich inner world. (Kirkus Reviews)

General

Imprint:	McPherson & Co Publishers,U.S.
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	March 1998
Authors:	Robert Kelly
Dimensions:	235 x 159mm (L x W)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	180
Edition:	1st ed
ISBN-13:	978-0-914232-91-9
Categories:	Books > Fiction > General & literary fiction > Modern fiction Books > Fiction > Special features > Short stories
LSN:	0-914232-91-6
Barcode:	9780914232919

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