Synopses & Reviews
"You want me to tell you what sets Maliszewski apart? The answer is probity. The answer also is decency. Here's another answer: modesty, tact, exactitude, pertinence, reverence, wit. All told, Maliszewski has all the answers, which is why I, in my old age, am renewed and schooled by him. Oh, and another thing: Paul Maliszewski takes no crap."Gordon Lish
Paul Maliszewski's debut collection of stories artfully describes a world divided and united by its dilemmas: how to act; how to think. And how on earth to learn from these proclivities: A man traces a daily, zigzagging path to another's humble trailer in search of "the next most beautiful thing." A pair of brothers stands by over the years as their father transfers his unwieldy affections from one robotic invention to another. The King of Denmark debates the function of prayer as he walks the "hallway" of the afterlife. Prayer and Parable observes the human impulse toward decency, even as it records the vertiginous minutes in which its characters fail to be good. These stories drive as hard as they muse, flexing the muscle of abstraction to heft the weight of realism.
Paul Maliszewski has published essays in Harper's, Granta, and Bookforum, among other magazines. His stories have appeared in The Paris Review, One Story, and BOMB and have been awarded two Pushcart Prizes. Fakers, a collection of essays, was published by The New Press in 2009. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife and son.
Synopsis
Paul Maliszewski assembles a world of searchers, worriers, and talkers kept at the brink of prayer by dilemma and hope.
Synopsis
"You want me to tell you what sets Maliszewski apart? The answer is probity. The answer also is decency. Here's another answer: modesty, tact, exactitude, pertinence, reverence, wit. All told, Maliszewski has all the graces, which is why I, in my old age, am renewed and schooled by him. Oh, and another thing: Paul Maliszewski takes no crap."Gordon Lish
At a campground, a divorced father confronts a man he believes hurt his daughter. A devoted student traces a winding path through the snow, searching for the next most beautiful thing. Two brothers watch their father tinker lovingly with his homemade robots. In Paul Maliszewskis debut story collection, men and women struggle to do right. They argue. They think. They think again. They have odd dreams. Often they fail at being good, and yet, on occasion, they realize moments of true kindness. In language that is at once simple and supple, plain-spoken and arresting, these twenty-eight stories describe complete lives in sharp detail, lives we may recognize as not unlike our own.
Paul Maliszewski has published essays in Harper's, Granta, and Bookforum, among other magazines. His stories have appeared in The Paris Review, One Story, and BOMB and have been awarded two Pushcart Prizes. Fakers, a collection of essays, was published by The New Press in 2009. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife and son.
About the Author
Paul Maliszewski has published essays in Harpers, Granta, and Bookforum, among other magazines. His stories have appeared in The Paris Review, One Story, and Bomb and have been awarded two Pushcart Prizes. Fakers, his first collection of essays, was published by The New Press in 2009. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife and son.