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Describe your latest work. Blueprints of the Afterlife is a novel about the following things: giant heads that appear in the sky, a mystical... Continue »
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At Large and at Small: Familiar Essays

by Anne Fadiman

At Large and at Small: Familiar Essays Cover

ISBN13: 9780374531317
ISBN10: 0374531315
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

In At Large and At Small, Anne Fadiman returns to one of her favorite genres, the familiar essay — a beloved and hallowed literary tradition recognized for both its intellectual breadth and its miniaturist focus on everyday experiences. With the combination of humor and erudition that has distinguished her as one of our finest essayists, Fadiman draws us into twelve of her personal obsessions: from her slightly sinister childhood enthusiasm for catching butterflies to her monumental crush on Charles Lamb, from her wistfulness for the days of letter-writing to the challenges and rewards of moving from the city to the country.

Many of these essays were composed "under the influence" of the subject at hand. Fadiman ingests a shocking amount of ice cream and divulges her passion for Haagen-Dazs Chocolate Chocolate Chip and her brothers homemade Liquid Nitrogen Kahlua Coffee (recipe included); she sustains a terrific caffeine buzz while recounting Balzacs coffee addiction; and she stays up till dawn to write about being a night owl, examining the rhythms of our circadian clocks and sharing such insomnia cures as her fathers nocturnal word games and Lewis Carrolls mathematical puzzles.

At Large and At Small is a brilliant and delightful collection of essays that harkens a revival of a long-cherished genre.

Review:

"Detailed and elegant, [her essays] reveal a reflective writer with rarefied interests . . . [an] engaging mixture of intellectual exploration, textured storytelling and accessible prose." Time Out New York

Review:

"This essay collection by the former editor of The American Scholar attempts to bring back the 'familiar essay,' a less formal rumination on a given topic. From homemade ice cream to the charms of being a night owl, the subjects of these essays may seem as if they're chosen without any discrimination (hence the title), but they're all equally celebrated with Fadiman's wit and insight." Venus Zine

Review:

"Anne Fadiman wins our attention by directing hers with unwavering focus at the world around her. Her perceptions are astute and her sensibility is so rich and sane no calculation could violate it. The personal essay was invented so that writers like Fadiman could practice it." Sven Birkerts

Review:

"Limpid, learned, perspicacious — and relentless. Whatever the subject, Anne Fadiman overlooks nothing, imparts everything, and leaves you wanting more." Thomas Mallon

Review:

"These are wonderful essays. The writing is effortless, elegant, and clear, the subjects delightful or weighty or both. Anne Fadiman had me completely charmed by page four." Ian Frazier

Synopsis:

At Large and At Small is a brilliant and delightful collection of essays that harkens a revival of a long-cherished genre.
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About the Author

Anne Fadiman is the Francis Writer-in-Residence at Yale. She is the author of Ex Libris (FSG, 1998) and The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (FSG, 1997, recipient of a National Book Critics Circle Award), and the editor of Rereadings (FSG, 2005).
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
Melanie Ivanoff, January 10, 2011 (view all comments by Melanie Ivanoff)
Anne Fadiman writes wonderful essays. At Large and At Small is a collection with a wider range of topics than the previous one i read, Ex Libris. While Ex Libris dealt mainly with topics reading related, At Large and At Small covers ice cream, collecting, moving out of the city, patriotism and others. Fadiman has a way of making you completely present at the events she writes of, as well as making you recall similar events in your own life. She obviously has a great love of literature; i want to pick up a biography of Coleridge because of her essay and I don't even know that i've ever read anything by Coleridge!
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780374531317
Author:
Fadiman, Anne
Publisher:
Farrar Straus Giroux
Author:
ne Fadiman
Author:
An
Subject:
Essays
Subject:
Anthologies-Essays
Edition Description:
Trade Paper
Publication Date:
20080531
Binding:
TRADE PAPER
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
240
Dimensions:
7.5 x 5.03 x 0.65 in
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At Large and at Small: Familiar Essays New Trade Paper
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Product details 240 pages Farrar, Straus and Giroux - English 9780374531317 Reviews:
"Review" by , "Detailed and elegant, [her essays] reveal a reflective writer with rarefied interests . . . [an] engaging mixture of intellectual exploration, textured storytelling and accessible prose."
"Review" by , "This essay collection by the former editor of The American Scholar attempts to bring back the 'familiar essay,' a less formal rumination on a given topic. From homemade ice cream to the charms of being a night owl, the subjects of these essays may seem as if they're chosen without any discrimination (hence the title), but they're all equally celebrated with Fadiman's wit and insight."
"Review" by , "Anne Fadiman wins our attention by directing hers with unwavering focus at the world around her. Her perceptions are astute and her sensibility is so rich and sane no calculation could violate it. The personal essay was invented so that writers like Fadiman could practice it."
"Review" by , "Limpid, learned, perspicacious — and relentless. Whatever the subject, Anne Fadiman overlooks nothing, imparts everything, and leaves you wanting more."
"Review" by , "These are wonderful essays. The writing is effortless, elegant, and clear, the subjects delightful or weighty or both. Anne Fadiman had me completely charmed by page four."
"Synopsis" by , At Large and At Small is a brilliant and delightful collection of essays that harkens a revival of a long-cherished genre.
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