Synopses & Reviews
Ursula Le Guin, the much-honored author of 16 novels, 80 short stories, 10 books for children, several volumes of poetry, and numerous screenplays once again demonstrates her virtuosity and versatility in this superb collection of short stories. Written over a span of 12 years, and previously published in such prestigious publications as The New Yorker, Harpers, Omni, and Playboy, these stories are connected in the way they approach reality while diffusing the traditional boundaries of realism, magical realism, and surrealism. In each, Le Guin finds the detail that reveals the strange in everyday life, or the unexpected depths of an ordinary person. Written with wit, zest, and a passionate sense of human frailty and toughness, Unlocking the Air and Other Stories is superb fiction by a beloved storyteller at the height of her power.
Synopsis
Chapter 1. Half-Past Four
Chapter 2. The Professors House
Chapter 3. Ruby on the 67
Chapter 4. Limberlost
Chapter 5. The Creatures on My Mind
Chapter 6. Standing Ground
Chapter 7. The Spoons in the Basement
Chapter 8. Sunday in Summer in Seatown
Chapter 9. In the Drought
Chapter 10. Either, Or
Chapter 11. Unlocking the Air
Chapter 12. A Child Bride
Chapter 13. Climbing to the Moon
Chapter 14. Daddys Big Girl
Chapter 14. Findings
Chapter 15. Olders
Chapter 16. The Wise Woman
Chapter 17. The Poacher
Synopsis
This collection of mainstream stories, written from the early eighties to the mid-nineties, is a stunning example of the virtuosity of the legendary Ursula K. Le Guin. Diffusing the traditional boundaries of realism, magical realism, and surrealism, Le Guin finds the detail that reveals the strange in everyday life, or the unexpected depths of an ordinary person. Written with wit, zest, and a passionate sense of human frailty and toughness, Unlocking the Air is superb fiction by a beloved storyteller at the height of her power.
About the Author
Ursula K. Le Guin is the author of more than one hundred short stories, two collections of essays, four volumes of poetry, and nineteen novels. Her best-known fantasy works, the Earthsea books, have sold millions of copies in America and England, and have been translated into sixteen languages. Her first major work of science fiction,
The Left Hand of Darkness, is considered epochmaking in the field because of its radical investigation of gender roles and its moral and literary complexity.
Three of Le Guin's books have been finalists for the American Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, and among the many honors her writing has received are the National Book Award, five Hugo Awards, five Nebula Awards, the Kafka Prize, a Pushcart Prize, and the Harold D. Vursell Award of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. She lives in Portland, Oregon.
Table of Contents
Half past four --The professor's houses --Ruby on the 67 --Limberlost --The creatures on my mind --Standing ground --the spoons in the basement --Sunday in summer in Seatown --In the drought --Ether, OR --Unlocking ther air --A child bride --Climbing to the moon --Daddy's big girl --Findings --Olders --The wise woman --The poacher.