| Edition |
First edition. |
| Description |
352 pages ; 22 cm |
| Summary |
A collection of fourteen short stories by Lee Smith. |
| Contents |
Bob, a dog -- Toastmaster -- Big girl -- Ultima thule -- Intensive care -- Folk art -- House tour -- Southern cross -- Between the lines -- Tongues of fire -- Fried chicken -- Happy memories club -- Stevie and mama -- Mrs. Darcy and the blue-eyed stranger. |
| Note |
"A Shannon Ravenel book." |
| Summary |
This wonderful writer is a readers'-advisory librarian's dream. Short stories, ordinarily a relatively hard sell to library patrons, are a different animal when they are Lee Smith's short stories. In a very hospitable way of talking, reminiscent of Ellen Gilchrist's style in her delicious writing, Smith offers stories that deliver an irresistible one-two punch. The first punch is -- again, like Gilchrist -- the humor that fills every page. She doesn't poke fun at the ordinary folks who stock her fiction but gets us to see, by their plights and successes, the universal absurdity in their struggles to attain love and significance. The second punch is the meaningfulness of every story. All of us, in different garb, appear at some point in a Smith story. This collection contains 14 pieces, 7 new and 7 that have seen publication in previous collections. Bob, a Dog leads off, and it shows Smith in absolute control of her material; the eponymous character serves as a metaphor for freedom. The title story is entertaining and riveting from its first line, It was cocktail time. The most beautiful story is the very short Toastmaster, an imaginative narrative from the point of view of a bookish little boy--Booklist. |
| Genre/Form |
Short stories.
|
| Subject |
Short stories, American.
|
| ISBN |
9781565129153 |
|
1565129156 |
|
