Aliens of Affection: Stories

By Padgett Powell

Book Overview

The idiosyncratic genius of Padgett Powell shines through in nine stories that bend the conventions of short fiction
Padgett Powell's literary stage is a blurred vision of the American South. His characters are bored, sad, assured, confused, deluded, and often just one step away from madness. The stories they populate are madder still, delivered by a voice enthralling and distinctive.
Whether he's chronicling a housewife's encouragement of adolescent lust, following two good ol' boys on their search for a Chinese healer, or delving into the mind of an unstable moped accident survivor as he awaits a hefty settlement check, Powell revels in the irregularities of the mundane. His people occupy bar stools and strip clubs, pickup truck cabs and mental health clinics, looking for love, drugs, answers. According to the New York Times Book Review, "Mr. Powell is like a fabulous guest at a dinner party, the guy who gets people drinking far too much and licking their dessert plates and laughing at jokes--for which not a few of them will hate themselves in the morning."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1480464112
• ISBN13: 9781480464117
• Release Date: January 2014
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
• Length: 218 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Southern-fried Beckett Take 2

I enjoyed reading Powell's first collection of short stories entitled "Typical" and looked forward to reading this one, once I got the chance.Powell has a really great ear for the way people speak, but more to the point, he can really get inside the minds of the down-and-out, somewhat crazy men and women he portrays. The 3 linked stories grouped under the title "All Along the Watchtower" are reminiscent of many of Samuel Beckett's works. (I thought most of "Molloy" and "Malone Dies.") He also has shadings of Flann O'Brien, who is quoted as the Frontispiece to this volume.For me a hallmark of really great writing is that I find myself reading it aloud, and I was vocalizing muchos veces during this read. The writing can go from downright hilarious to heart-rendingly poignant to deeply troubling with ease. A very great read!

Alienated Affections in S. Florida

Padgett Powell weaves an imaginative South that's as rich as Lady Baltimore cake. Losers and drunkards compete for the attentions of women with big hair and bigger secrets. Powell seems to know them all, and he hints at something darker and more mysterious in the American character, but with a quirky, hysterical style that can take a reader's breath away, and leave him jealous of a writer with so much natural talent. Even his weakest stories are better than almost anyone's else strongest ones.