Surreal stories highlighting the struggle of carving out a home for
one's self. Steve Hughes wrote Stiff with an audience in mind. As
creator of The Good Tyme Writers Buffet-a literary series/potluck
which runs out of a neighborhood art space-Hughes offers up each
story in the collection like a dish to be passed. Just as each
Buffet was thematically tied to a gallery show, so is each story in
Stiff. The book serves as a kind of photo album of moments when
artists were working separately and collaboratively in the same
space. The process of eating, drinking, making, and working
together (and apart) is what Hughes says is the central theme of
the collection: finding home. In Hughes's stories, home is not just
a physical structure where one arranges their stuff, but the place
where one most belongs. Finding that place can be a lifelong
struggle. In ""Ripening,"" a man and woman in an illicit affair
witness their genitals leave their bodies for a rendezous. In ""I
Don't Feel Sorry for Mrs. Miller,"" a paperboy becomes ""friendly""
with one of his customers. In ""Dexter's Song,"" a drug-addicted
saxophone player meets a bored suburban woman who gives him her
ex-boyfriend's sax, which causes him to play better than ever. The
stories in Stiff are odd and otherworldly, with themes ranging from
cowboys to ""burn"" to ""girlfriend material"" to summer. And yet,
at the end of the day, the characters in these stories are all just
looking for a place to hang their hats and feel whole again.
Readers of contemporary fiction will enjoy this outrageous and
evocative ensemble of stories.
General
Imprint: |
Wayne State University Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Series: |
Made in Michigan Writers Series |
Release date: |
November 2018 |
Authors: |
Steve Hughes
|
Dimensions: |
216 x 140mm (L x W) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
176 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-8143-4588-7 |
Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
General & literary fiction >
Modern fiction
|
LSN: |
0-8143-4588-3 |
Barcode: |
9780814345887 |
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!