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When John Edgar Wideman won the PEN Malamud Award in 2019, he joined a list of esteemed writers—from Eudora Welty to George Saunders—all of whom are acknowledged masters of the short story. Wideman's commitment to short fiction has been lifelong, and here he gathers a representative selection from throughout his career, stories that "have a wary, brooding spirit, a lonely intelligence...[and] air the problem of consciousness, including the fragile contingency of our existence" (The New York Times).
Wideman's stories are grounded in the streets and the people of Homewood, the Pittsburgh neighborhood of his childhood, but they range far beyond there, to the small western towns of Wyoming and historic Philadelphia, the contemporary world and the ancient past. He explores the interior lives of his characters, and the external pressures that shape them. These stories are as intellectually intricate as they are rich with the language and character. "Wideman has been compared to William Faulkner and James Baldwin...[these] prove that he is every bit as masterful a cartographer of the American spirit as his forebears" (Esquire).
Comprised of thirty-five stories drawn from past collections (American Histories, Briefs, God's Gym, All Stories Are True, Fever, and Damballah), and an introductory essay by the National Book Critics Circle board member and scholar Walton Muyumba, this volume of Wideman's selected stories celebrates the lifelong significance of this major American writer's essential contribution to a form—illuminating the ways that he has made it his own. "If there were any doubts Wideman belongs to the American canon, this puts them to bed" (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
April 6, 2021 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781982148935
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781982148935
- File size: 2764 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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April 1, 2021
Spanning three decades and showcasing 35 stories from venerated Wideman's accomplished career, this stunning collection is a testament to ingenious storytelling. Through vividly portrayed voices, evocative settings, and expansive themes, these tales put Wideman's talent for exploring the indelible connections that unite generations on full display. Beginning with selections from Damballah (1981), the first book in the author's now classic Homewood trilogy, the collection opens a door into the compelling inner lives of unforgettable characters. From the start, the reader understands what Walton Muyumba writes in his elegant introduction about the author's desires for "both close connections between his life and his works, and the ambiguities that literary writing can create." Whether presenting, in "Fever," a collage of voices from persons both real and fictional during the 1793 yellow fever outbreak in Philadelphia; relating a brief, tragic story in the precisely titled "Newborn Thrown in Trash and Dies;" or imagining a conversation between Frederick Douglass and John Brown in "JB & FD," the stories throughout are exemplary examples of how Wideman's works are able to endure, to transcend time and place, and to resonate. This is an essential collection for both readers familiar with Wideman's oeuvre and those just discovering this modern master.COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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