Stories

By Erica Loberg

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK - The first volume of collected short fiction from the award-winning author of The Tortilla Curtain, featuring sixty-eight "varied, clever, and delightful" (The Chicago Tribune) short stories, including seven never-before-published tales "Each story hops] with manic energy . . . at his vaulting, imaginative best Boyle suggests the bastard child of Flannery O'Connor and Monty Python."--The Miami Herald WINNER OF THE PEN/MALAMUD AWARD - FINALIST FOR THE PEN CENTER/USA WEST LITERARY AWARD By turns mythic and realistic, farcical and tragic, ironic and moving, T.C. Boyle's stories map a wide geography of human emotions. Whether he is writing about eccentrics, charlatans, or exotic seekers after the truth, or about decent vulnerable people trying to forge some kind of connection in an unfriendly world, the effect is always surprising and uniquely his own. Running throughout is Boyle's razor-sharp sense of humor, and his singular genius for dissecting America's obsession with image and materialism. Drawn from Descent of Man, Greasy Lake, If the River Was Whiskey, and Without a Hero alongside seven new tales, the sixty-eight stories in this volume are remarkable in their range, richness, and exuberance. T.C. Boyle Stories is a book of small treasures, a definitive gift for Boyle fans and for every reader ready to discover the "ferocious, delicious imagination" (Los Angeles Times Book Review) of a "vibrant sensibility fully engaged with American society" (The New York Times). This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670879606
• ISBN13: 9780670879601
• Release Date: November 1998
• Publisher: Viking Books
• Length: 691 Pages
• Weight: 2.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.1" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Sometimes cynical and mean, always clever and well-written

I read the last short story in this collection (Filthy with Things) in a collection of short stories, essays, and excerpts that writers considered to be among their better work (called This is My Best -- recommended, by the way). That story caused me to put TC Boyle on my list of authors to read more from, so I was glad to see this giant volume of short stories from him! The book is divided into three parts: Love, Death,...

I inhaled this one

T. C. Boyle is a master of short stories. In this 700 page tome, Boyle covers the gamut of subjects in a funny, witty, and satirical way. His writing style offers an amusing, introspective, and memorable view of American culture. This one is as entertaining as any book I have read.

Boyle Does Not Come Up Short

T.C. Boyle is probably one of the greatest contemporary (and most under-read) American authors that we have. I have read many of Boyle's novels, and though while not being a fan of the short story genre, I thought I would give this massive collection of 70 short stories a try. If anything it has made me a greater fan of this talented author. Boyle excels in the shorter format bringing us tales that are highly imaginative...

Hard-Boyled and Enduring

I can't remember when I've enjoyed a collection of short stories any more. TC Boyle is an imaginative bottomless pit of intriguing short fiction ideas. At 691 pages, this collection is a comprehensive look into the mind of one of our most talented prose stylists. Boyle is, in fact, at his luinous best in the shorter work. While his novels become at times ponderous, the reader will not find that to be true in the shorts.There...

T.C. Boyle at his best, many times over!

The first book I read of Boyle's was Tortilla Curtain. I have been HOOKED ever since. I am not usually a fan of short stories, I tend to prefer novels for more at length character development and situations (blah blah blah). T.C. Boyle is amazing - you can get all of that in a ten page story! This is the best collection of short stories that I own and I re-read them many times over. I also bought two copies and gave them as...