From Powells.com
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Powell's Short List: Best Story Collections of the 21st Century (So Far)
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Staff Pick
Levin's first story collection (following his 1,000-plus page debut novel, The Instructions) features stories about a doll that thwarts eating disorders, mysterious goo leaking from a bedroom wall, and a girl who likes to be hit by strangers. But, bizarre plotlines aside, what really sets this collection apart is Levin's flair for voice, and his tough, damaged characters have big personalities and a lot of soul. Inventive, energetic, and disarmingly funny, Hot Pink is a collection that will remain fresh for years to come. Recommended By Renee P., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Adam Levin's debut novel
The Instructions was one of the most buzzed-about books of 2010, a sprawling universe of “death-defying sentences, manic wit, exciting provocations and simple human warmth” (
Rolling Stone).
Now, in the stories of Hot Pink, Levin delivers ten smaller worlds, shaken snow-globes of overweight romantics, legless prodigies, quixotic dollmakers, Chicagoland thugs, dirty old men, protective fathers, balloon-laden dumptrucks, and walls that ooze gels. Told with lust and affection, karate and tenderness, slapstickery, ferocity, and heart, Hot Pink is the work of a major talent in his sharpest form.
Review
"Each story in this anticipated follow-up to Levin's megalithic debut The Instructions, has its own cracks-fissures in otherwise recognizable realities that expose the hidden aspects of everyday experience." Nylon
Review
"From walls that ooze unnameable, unidentifiable gel, through makers of children's dolls designed to mimic the stages of digestive health, to old widowers in retirement looking back over their marriages, Levin manages to find the pathos and humor in living an 'ordinary' existence. Enter his world if you dare!" The Jewish Times
Review
"Levin has a gift for voice, for creating enticing narrators. Whether it's the elderly, dirty-minded Jewish men of 'The Extra Mile' or the adolescent Italian-American toughs of 'Finch' and the white working-class boys of 'Hot Pink,' these are stories that grab the ear first.” The LA Times
Review
Extraordinary and bizarre.” Chicago Sun-Times
Review
Levin's writing isn't just clever but smart
it isn't just strange but insightful.” The Chicago Reader
Review
Each story is so singular and entirely different that it becomes a joy delving into each strange new world.” Grantland.com
About the Author
Adam Levin is the author of The Instructions, the winner of the New York Public Library's Young Lions Award. His stories have appeared in Tin House, McSweeney's, and Esquire. Winner of the 2003 Summer Literary Seminars Fiction Contest and the 2004 Joyce Carol Oates Fiction Prize, he lives in Chicago, where he teaches Creative Writing at the School of the Art Institute.