Staff Pick
Homes is a master of the short story collection, and she has a keen eye for everyday minutia, which she is somehow able to mine for meaning. With an eye to domestic drama, Homes serves up one stellar story after another, but don't stop at her short story collections — her novels are sublime! Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Published to overwhelming critical acclaim, this remarkable collection of short stories established A.M. Homes as one of the most provacative and daring writers of her generation.Here you'll find the cult classic."A Real Doll," the tale of a teenage boy's erotic obsession with his sister's Barbie doll; "Adults Alone," which first introduced Paul and Elaine, the crack-smoking yuppie couple whose marriage careens out of control in Home's novel
Music for Torching; and "Looking for Johnny," in which a kidnapped boy, having failed his abductors expectations, is returned home.
Brilliantly concieved, sharply etched, and exceptionally satisfying, these stories explore the American dream in ways you're not likely soon to forget.Working in Kodacolor hues, Homes offers an uncanny picture of a surreal suburbia -- outrageous and utterly believable.
About the Author
A.M. Homes is the author of the novels The End of Alice, In a Country of Mothers, and Jack, as well as the short-story collection The Safety of Objects and the artist's book Appendix A.Her fiction has been translated into eight languages, and she is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and a National endowment for the Arts Fellowship.Her fiction and nonfiction appear in magazines such as The New Yorker and Artforum, among others, and she is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, Mirabella, Bomb, Blind Spot, and Story.She teaches in the writing programs at Columbia University and The New School and lives in New York City.
Table of Contents
Adults alone -- Looking for Johnny -- Chunky in heat -- Jim Train -- The bullet catcher -- Yours truly -- Esther in the night -- Slumber party -- The I of it -- A real doll.