Truthtelling
Stories, Fables, Glimpses
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $2.99
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
“A grab bag of realist and experimental stories, each one a treasure . . . Wise, wry, and witty—theses stories in all their stylistic variations are perfect.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
A man generously lends his car to his ex-wife, and is bewildered when she not only neglects to return it but makes increasingly implausible excuses for her actions. A neat and orderly clothing store owner is taken in and manipulated by an ailing elderly neighbor. A wife left by her husband for a younger woman is forced to visit the couple in order to see her children—and makes a startling realization about her former spouse.
In these stories and others, including an O. Henry Award winner and a Best American Short Stories selection, National Book Award finalist Lynne Sharon Schwartz presents readers with a cast of indefatigable New Yorkers whose long-established routines are disrupted by mishaps or swerves of fate.
“Meticulously crafted . . . This first-rate collection demonstrates why Schwartz remains an American literary treasure.” —Publishers Weekly
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Schwartz (Two-Part Inventions) reflects on small but revealing moments in this meticulously crafted collection. The title story focuses on an old married couple who confess their secrets to each other, which include past love affairs and smoking while pretending to quit. Set in and just outside New York City, this quintessential Schwartz story begins with ordinary characters in a familiar situation, then tension and complexity slowly build toward a surprising insight for the reader, if not the character. Many Schwartz protagonists are resentful loners. "A Taste of Dust" portrays a woman unable to summon empathy for her ex-husband's remorse over leaving her for a younger woman. The narrator of "I Want My Car" grows increasingly concerned as he realizes his ex-wife is not going to return his beloved automobile. Several stories deal with aging and illness. In "The Golden Rule," a woman is inundated by calls for assistance from an elderly neighbor. Schwartz explores different perspectives on reality in stories like "Apples," "Tree of Porphyry," and "Fragment Discovered in a Charred Steel Box." Among the best are those featuring characters puzzled by their own behavior, such as a moviegoer who keeps the pair of shoes she finds under her seat, and a stranded motorist who steals an ivory Buddha figurine from the house where he takes shelter. This first-rate collection demonstrates why Schwartz remains an American literary treasure.
Customer Reviews
Truthtelling
I devoured this book, a collection of "stories, fables and glimpses," as the subtitle accurately calls them. Reading this book is like taking a private, intimate voyage through. Schwartz's imagination--a rich, free, wholly unique imagination that carries us from the profoundly poignant "Near November" to the surreal "Pickup." No wonder Kirkus dubbed it "perfect" and each story a treasure. Publisher's Weekly also used the word treasure, but in their case to describe Schwartz herself--and American literary treasure," they said. I found the book an enchanting, kaleidoscopic pleasure from the first page to last. Highly recommended.