What I Didn't See
A short story about memory, displacement, and the uneasy edge between the ordinary and the strange.
Work Information
A short story about memory, displacement, and the uneasy edge between the ordinary and the strange.
A short story about memory, displacement, and the uneasy edge between the ordinary and the strange.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Small Beer Press
- Published
- 2013-04-23
- Pages
- 256 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 13.97 x 1.22 x 21.59 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9781931520485
- ISBN-10
- 1931520488
- Price
- 2983 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Science Fiction & Fantasy/Science Fiction/Anthologies
World Fantasy Award Winner Shirley Jackson Awards shortlist Locus Award shortlist Story Prize Notable Books Frank O’Connor Award longlist "Beautifully written and subtly discomforting stories."Nancy Pearl "An exceptionally versatile author." St. Louis Post-Dispatch In her moving and elegant new collection, New York Times bestseller Karen Joy Fowler writes about John Wilkes Booth’s younger brother, a one-winged man, a California cult, and a pair of twins, and she digs into our past, present, and future in the quiet, witty, and incisive way only she can. The sinister and the magical are always lurking just below the surface: for a mother who invents a fairy-tale world for her son in Halfway People”; for Edwin Booth in Booth’s Ghost,” haunted by his fame as America’s Hamlet” and his brother’s terrible actions; for Norah, a rebellious teenager facing torture in the World Fantasy and Shirley Jackson Award winner The Pelican Bar” as she confronts Mama Strong, the sadistic boss of a rehabilitation facility; for the narrator recounting her descent in What I Didn’t See.” With clear and insightful prose, Fowler’s stories measure the human capacities for hope and despair, brutality and kindness. This collection, which includes two Nebula Award winners and stories which have been significantly rewritten since first publication, is sure to delight readers, even as it pulls the rug out from underneath their feet.
Karen Joy Fowler: Karen Joy Fowler is the author of six novels including Booker Prize finalist and international bestseller We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Wit’s End , and The Jane Austen Book Club which spent thirteen weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, was a New York Times Notable Book, and was adapted as a major motion picture from Sony Pictures. Her novel Sister Noon was a finalist for the 2001 PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction, and her short story collection Black Glass won the World Fantasy Awards. Fowler and her husband, who have two grown children, live in Santa Cruz, California.
Reviews
-
Wonderful, electic collection
I have to start out by saying that I'm a huge fan of Karen Joy Fowler's work. If you haven't read Sarah Canary, it's an absolute must-read. That is one of my top ten favorite books of all time. I've read her short fiction before; Black Glass was my first introduction to her exquisite prose, and those stories knocked me out. She continues that tradition of superior story crafting in this collection of short fiction. Don't miss it.
-
darker than I expected
After enjoying The Jane Austen Book Club , I tried this book and found it as well written, each character brought to life by a few well chosen, unusual memories. Her short stories contain elements of science fiction while remaining personal. Unlike her novel, her short stories often end abruptly and unhappily, but they still flicker with her sense of humor. Several of the stories are unforgettable in how she brings their strangeness so close.
-
Magnificent range
The opening story was tough to get through, but it was as excellent as it was brutal-- and don't let it stop you from reading the whole thing. Definitely some new favorites found, in here. Very quick read.
-
Must read for all mystery, fantasy, and fiction fans overall
Beautiful, haunting stories. One of my fave authors today. Fowler blends mystery with fantasy and science fiction in a way I haven’t found anywhere before.
-
Sad, Disappointing
I guess I just like to read books (and watch movies) that are not sad and tragic. If that's what you like, this is the book for you. The last story, "King Rat" was particularly grating since she writes exactly what she has promised not to. Ms. Fowler has a lot of demons to expunge. I decline to go along on her depressing, self-pitying ride.