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Interviews | January 24, 2012

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Ben MarcusBen Marcus's books The Age of Wire and String and Notable American Women were considered "experimental" fiction because of his unconventional use of... Continue »
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    The Flame Alphabet

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Everything Here Is the Best Thing Ever: Stories (P.S.)

by Justin Taylor

Everything Here Is the Best Thing Ever: Stories (P.S.) Cover

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Each story in this crystalline, spare, oddly moving collection cuts to the quick. Taylor's characters are guided by delusions and misapprehensions that quickly bring them to impasses with reality. Moving through this collection the reader will meet a young man who has reasoned away certain boundaries in relation to his budding, girl cousin; a high schooler whose desire to win back his crush leads him to experiment with goth magic; a man whose girlfriend is stolen by angels; and a Tetris player who, as the advancing white wall of the Apocalypse slowly churns up his driveway, decides that Death is a kindness.

Fearless and funny, Taylor imagines this and more, in a collection that paints a dark picture of his generation — one that is upwardly mobile yet adrift, fumbling for connection but hopelessly self-involved. And it's all held together by a thread of wounding humor and candid storytelling that marks Taylor as a distinct and emerging literary talent.

Review:

"Taylor flirts with poetic language, teasing us with lines so lusciously packed that even a tattoo's description can set the page on fire." Bookslut

Review:

"Justin Taylor does irony and snark and thwarted idealism uncommonly well." Huffington Post

Review:

"These short fictions by Justin Taylor give such a convincing account of the rough crossing of young adulthood that they practically induce seasickness. For his youthful protagonists, identity — emotional, intellectual, sexual — is unstable, constantly in motion." Boston Globe

Review:

"Justin Taylor is a master of the modern snapshot." Los Angeles Times

Synopsis:

Justin Taylor's crystalline, spare, and oddly moving prose cuts to the quick. His characters are guided by misapprehensions that bring them to hilarious but often tragic impasses with reality: a high school boy's desire to win over a crush leads him to experiment with black magic, a fast-food employee preoccupied by Abu Ghraib becomes obsessed with a coworker, a Tetris player attempts to beat his own record while his girlfriend sleeps and the world outside their window blazes to its end. Fearless and astute, funny and tragic, this collection heralds the arrival of a unique literary talent.
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About the Author

Justin Taylor's fiction and nonfiction have been widely published in journals, magazines, and Web sites, including The Believer, the Nation, the New York Tyrant, the Brooklyn Rail, Flaunt, and NPR. A coeditor of The Agriculture Reader and a contributor to HTMLGIANT, Taylor lives in Brooklyn and is at work on his first novel.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780061881817
Author:
Taylor, Justin
Publisher:
Harper Perennial
Author:
Watkins, Yoko Kawashima
Author:
Tayl
Author:
or, Justin
Subject:
General
Subject:
General Fiction
Subject:
Biographical - Other
Subject:
Literature-A to Z
Edition Description:
Trade PB
Series:
P.S.
Publication Date:
20100231
Binding:
TRADE PAPER
Grade Level:
from 5
Language:
English
Pages:
208
Dimensions:
7.96x5.82x.51 in. .34 lbs.
Age Level:
from 10
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Related Aisles

Everything Here Is the Best Thing Ever: Stories (P.S.) New Trade Paper
0 stars - 0 reviews
$13.99 In Stock
Product details 208 pages Harper Perennial - English 9780061881817 Reviews:
"Review" by , "Taylor flirts with poetic language, teasing us with lines so lusciously packed that even a tattoo's description can set the page on fire."
"Review" by , "Justin Taylor does irony and snark and thwarted idealism uncommonly well."
"Review" by , "These short fictions by Justin Taylor give such a convincing account of the rough crossing of young adulthood that they practically induce seasickness. For his youthful protagonists, identity — emotional, intellectual, sexual — is unstable, constantly in motion."
"Review" by , "Justin Taylor is a master of the modern snapshot."
"Synopsis" by , Justin Taylor's crystalline, spare, and oddly moving prose cuts to the quick. His characters are guided by misapprehensions that bring them to hilarious but often tragic impasses with reality: a high school boy's desire to win over a crush leads him to experiment with black magic, a fast-food employee preoccupied by Abu Ghraib becomes obsessed with a coworker, a Tetris player attempts to beat his own record while his girlfriend sleeps and the world outside their window blazes to its end. Fearless and astute, funny and tragic, this collection heralds the arrival of a unique literary talent.
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