Synopses & Reviews
The well-intentioned protagonists of
Brief Encounters with Che Guevara are caught to both disastrous and hilarious effect in the maelstrom of political and social upheaval surrounding them. In Near-Extinct Birds of the Central Cordillera, an ornithologist being held hostage in the Colombian rain forest finds that he respects his captors for their commitment to a cause, until he realizes that the Revolution looks a lot like big business.
In "The Good Ones Are Already Taken," the wife of a Special Forces officer battles a Haitian voodoo goddess with whom her husband is carrying on a not-entirely-spiritual relationship. And in "The Lion's Mouth," a disillusioned aid worker makes a Faustian bargain to become a diamond smuggler for the greater good. With masterful pacing and a robust sense of the absurd, each story in Brief Encounters with Che Guevara is a self-contained adventure, steeped in the heady mix of tragedy and danger, excitement and hope, that characterizes countries in transition.
Through Fountain's rounded and novelistic prose, these intelligent and keenly observed stories are painted in provocative and vibrant detail across a global canvas. Brief Encounters with Che Guevara marks the arrival of a striking and resonant new voice that speaks adeptly to the intimate connection between the foreign, the familiar, and the inescapably human.
Review
"For 25 years, American short stories have turned relentlessly inward; it's refreshing how Fountain's stories reach for a broader engagement." Boston Globe
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"All Ben Fountain's stories move like great rivers, broad and calm on their surfaces, but in their depths full of darkness, undertows and invisible complications." Dallas Morning News
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"Politics aside, Fountain should be read for his metaphors and similes....This is why we turn to quality fiction, not for information or ideology, but for a revealing view of the human condition." Miami Herald
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"Eight powerful stories....An impeccable debut collection; if Fountain can keep it up, he's an heir to Paul Theroux." Kirkus Reviews
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"The stories in Brief Encounters with Che Guevara are poignant, empathetic, ironic, and, perhaps surprisingly, often funny....Fountain writes in gorgeous sentences that do much of their work with transparency but can also stop you in your tracks. He is a writer of impressive intelligence and range, writing convincingly on subjects from diamond mining to voodoo rituals, and this collection is held together by his unsparing, hopeful, but ultimately deeply sad vision..." Jill Owens, Powells.com (read the entire Powells.com review)
Synopsis
The well-intentioned protagonists of Brief Encounters with Che Guevara are caught -- to both disastrous and hilarious effect -- in the maelstrom of political and social upheaval surrounding them. In Near-Extinct Birds of the Central Cordillera, an ornithologist being held hostage in the Colombian rain forest finds that he respects his captors for their commitment to a cause, until he realizes that the Revolution looks a lot like big business. In The Good Ones Are Already Taken, the wife of a Special Forces officer battles a Haitian voodoo goddess with whom her husband is carrying on a not-entirely-spiritual relationship. And in The Lion's Mouth, a disillusioned aid worker makes a Faustian bargain to become a diamond smuggler for the greater good. With masterful pacing and a robust sense of the absurd, each story in Brief Encounters with Che Guevara is a self-contained adventure, steeped in the heady mix of tragedy and danger, excitement and hope, that characterizes countries in transition.
Through Fountain's rounded and novelistic prose, these intelligent and keenly observed stories are painted in provocative and vibrant detail across a global canvas. Brief Encounters with Che Guevara marks the arrival of a striking and resonant new voice that speaks adeptly to the intimate connection between the foreign, the familiar, and the inescapably human.
Synopsis
Winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award * A National Bestseller
"An exceptional story collection." --New York Times Book Review
The well-intentioned protagonists of Brief Encounters with Che Guevera--including a disillusioned NGO worker, the wife of a special operations officer, and an obssessed ornithologist--are caught, to both disastrous and hilarious effect, in the maelstrom of political and social upheaval surrounding them.
With masterful pacing and a robust sense of the absurd, each story is a self-contained adventure, steeped in the heady mix of tragedy and danger, excitement and hope, that characterizes countries in transition. An intelligent and keenly observed collection, Brief Encounters with Che Guevera marks the arrival of a striking and resonant new voice that speaks adeptly to the intimate connection between the foreign, the familiar, and the inescapably human.
About the Author
Ben Fountain's fiction has appeared in Harper's Magazine, The Paris Review, and Zoetrope: All-Story, and he has been awarded an O. Henry Prize, a Pushcart Prize, and other honors. He is the fiction editor of Southwest Review and lives with his wife and their two children in Dallas, Texas.
Exclusive Essay
Read an exclusive essay by Ben Fountain