Synopses & Reviews
In the title story of this collection, neighborhood boys crouch in a backyard toolshed, and conspire to prove their piano teachers to be witches. In "Cannibal Kings," a disillusioned young man accompanies a troubled boy on a tour of prep schools through the Pacific Northwest, only to realize that he has lost his way in life. And in "Come Live With Me And Be My Love," a middle-aged gentleman looks back at his mannered early life as a Ivy Leaguer, married to a vivacious woman but silently yearning for his best friend -- and the sacrifices that each made to uphold their compromising bargain.
With a classic storyteller's gift for nuance and understanding, and a poet's grace for language, Andrew Sean Greer makes a remarkable debut with How It Was For Me.
Review
"Wry and rueful.... Quirky and languorous, [Greer's] style beautifully captures his characters' wistful self-consciousness.... His stories are humane and hopeful in ways that are too rare."
-John Perry, The San Francisco Chronicle Book Review
"Refreshing and provocative...Greer's stories are self-contained and well crafted.... Subtle and poetic." -Chris Berdik, The Boston Book Review
"[An] impressive debut...There are very few flubbed lines in Greer's stark, delicate opererttas, which are as clever as they are gravely real." -Mark Rozzo, Los Angeles Times
"Crystal-like clarity...outstanding...nuanced language...Greer is a writer worth watching." -Martin Wilson, Austin Chronicle
"Impressive...Greer's descriptive talents are immense.... While these stories are thick with melancholy, their frankness is refressing." --The New York Times Book Review
Review
" In this collection, Greer takes a moment, a feeling, or a revelation and weaves a story around it in elegant prose. The result is high art; the stories a delight." (DaKine)
Synopsis
In the title story of this debut collection, neighborhood boys crouch in a backyard toolshed and conspire to prove that their piano teachers are witches. Greer's stories have been published in "Esquire, Ploughshares" and "Story."
About the Author
Andrew Sean Greer is the bestselling author of five works of fiction, including The Story of a Marriage, which The New York Times has called an "inspired, lyrical novel," and The Confessions of Max Tivoli, which was named a best book of 2004 by the San Francisco Chronicle and the Chicago Tribune. He is the recipient of the Northern California Book Award, the California Book Award, the New York Public Library Young Lions Award, the O Henry Award for short fiction and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York Public Library. Greer lives in San Francisco.
Table of Contents
Cannibal kings -- How it was for me -- Lost causes -- Life is over there -- Blame it on my youth -- Titipu -- The art of eating -- The walker -- Four bites -- The future of the Flynns -- Come live with me and be my love.