The Anchor Book of New American Short Stories

by Ben Marcus (Editor)

Overview

“In twenty-nine separate but ingenious ways, these stories seek permanent residence within a reader. They strive to become an emotional or intellectual cargo that might accompany us wherever, or however, we go. . . . If we are made by what we read, if language truly builds people into what they are, how they think, the depth with which they feel, then these stories are, to me, premium material for that construction project. You could build a civilization with them.” —Ben Marcus, from the Introduction

Award-winning author of Notable American Women Ben Marcus brings us this engaging and comprehensive collection of short stories that explore the stylistic variety of the medium in America today.

Sea Oak by George Saunders
Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower
Do Not Disturb by A.M. Homes
The Girl in the Flammable Skirt by Aimee Bender
The Caretaker by Anthony Doerr
The Old Dictionary by Lydia Davis
The Father’s Blessing by Mary Caponegro
The Life and Work of Alphonse Kauders by Aleksandar Hemon
People Shouldn’t Have to be the Ones to Tell You by Gary Lutz
Histories of the Undead by Kate Braverman
When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine by Jhumpa Lahiri
Down the Road by Stephen Dixon
X Number of Possibilities by Joanna Scott
Tiny, Smiling Daddy by Mary Gaitskill
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace
The Sound Gun by Matthew Derby
Short Talks by Anne Carson
Field Events by Rick Bass
Scarliotti and the Sinkhole by Padgett Powell

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781400034826
Publisher:	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/10/2004
Pages:	496
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.98(h) x 1.01(d)

About the Author

Ben Marcus is the author of Notable American Women and The Age of Wire and String. His work has appeared in Grand Street, Harper’s, McSweeney’s, Conjunctions, and elsewhere. The recipient of two Pushcart Prizes, a Whiting Fellowship, and a National Endowment for the Arts grant, he is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Columbia University and lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

	Introduction
	Sea oak	3
	Everything ravaged, everything burned	31
	Do not disturb	51
	Gentleman's agreement	78
	The girl in the flammable skirt	87
	The caretaker	94
	I'm slavering	136
	The old dictionary	145
	The father's blessing	148
	The life and work of Alphonse Kauders	171
	The paperhanger	186
	People shouldn't have to be the ones to tell you	205
	Histories of the undead	214
	You drive	229
	When Mr. Pirzada came to dine	240
	Down the road	258
	All American	264
	X number of possibilities	266
	Two brothers	280
	Tiny, smiling daddy	305
	Someone to talk to	321
	Brief interviews with hideous men	349
	Where I work	371
	The sound gun	382
	Short talks	395
	Up the old goat road	405
	Scarliotti and the sinkhole	408
	Letters to Wendy's	422
	Field events	431

Editorial Reviews

The stories in this collection are organized by literary style and explore how language is used to develop characters. Few of the authors are readily recognizable, except for Jhumpa Lahiri. A good example of this character-based style is "The Caretaker" by Anthony Doerr, which traces the life of a young man in Liberia to his life in America as a caretaker. Through the character's eyes, the author reveals the culture of two different countries and the different kinds of human interaction. The stories vary in length and style, but each uses language well. The emphasis is on the way a story is told, rather than what the story says. KLIATT Codes: JSA—Recommended for junior and senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2004, Random House, Anchor, 480p., Ages 12 to adult.
—Nola Theiss

KLIATT