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$15.00Intriguing piece of literary criticism, also fun to read. Shields not only explores the future of literature, he convincingly argues that fiction , specifically the novel, no longer adequately expresses what it means to be alive in today’s world. Instead he urges writers to ignore the (alleged) boundaries between fiction and nonfiction in favor of a new genre that draws equal inspiration from memoir, reality TV, hiphop, and standup comedy (among others).
Recommended by Zak
The Coast of Chicago: Stories (Paperback)
Description
The stolid landscape of Chicago suddenly turns dreamlike and otherworldly in Stuart Dybek’s classic story collection. A child’s collection of bottle caps becomes the tombstones of a graveyard. A lowly rightfielder’s inexplicable death turns him into a martyr to baseball. Strains of Chopin floating down the tenement airshaft are transformed into a mysterious anthem of loss. Combining homely detail and heartbreakingly familiar voices with grand leaps of imagination, The Coast of Chicago is a masterpiece from one of America’s most highly regarded writers.
About the Author
Stuart Dybek is the award-winning author of Childhood and Other Neighborhoods, I Sailed with Magellan, and Brass Knuckles, a volume of poetry. A professor of English at Western Michigan University, he lives in Kalamazoo.
Praise for The Coast of Chicago: Stories…
"Has claim to comparison with Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio and Joyce's Dubliners. . .Dybek's energetic prose produces dazzling effects." --Chicago Sun-Times
"Moving and real and often brilliantly ambitious." --Los Angeles Times
"A fictional world that is both ordinary and amazing." --The New York Times
"Irresistible...Mr. Dreiser, Mr. Farrell, Mr. Bellow, Mr. Algren, please say hello to Stuart Dybek. He’s one of yours." The Village Voice
"Establishes [Dybek] not merely as a talent but as a magician comparable to Eudora Welty and Joy Williams." --Chicago Tribune
"Tender and unforgiving...No matter where you grew up, after reading these stories you’ll have found the coast of Chicago" --San Francisco Chronicle