A Permanent Member of the Family - Softcover
Suffused with Russell Banks's trademark lyricism and reckless humor, the twelve stories in A Permanent Member of the Family examine the myriad ways we try--and sometimes fail--to connect with one another, as we seek a home in the world.
In the title story, a father looks back on the legend of the cherished family dog whose divided loyalties mirrored the fragmenting of his marriage. "A Former Marine" asks, to chilling effect, if one can ever stop being a parent. And in the haunting, evocative "Veronica," a mysterious woman searching for her daughter may not be who she claims she is.
Moving between the stark beauty of winter in upstate New York and the seductive heat of Florida, Banks's acute and penetrating collection demonstrates the range and virtuosity of both his narrative prowess and his startlingly panoramic vision of modern American life.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
"Old-fashioned short fiction: honest, probing and moving."--Kirkus Reviews
"[O]ne of the best books I've read in years"--Real Simple magazine
"While these exquisitely crafted stories are highly personal, they are also permeated by a sense of sadness about the death of the American dream, as the country struggles, out of work and seemingly out of hope."--Publishers Weekly
A resounding collection by an essential American writer.--Booklist
."..an exceptionally well-written, engaging, unified collection"--New York Journal of Books
."..Banks's short fiction is relentlessly realistic, never cynical, and always attentive to the human condition."--Shelf Awareness
"These characters are all broken in wonderfully literary ways ('When a terrible thing happens, and it's your own damn fault, there's no closure, he thought. Whatever happened, you live with it.') but Banks is primarily concerned with telling a good story, and the pages fly by."--Daily Beast
"It's a gift to experience such expertly evoked pathos, to see how Banks meticulously picks out and exposes the strands of his characters' muddled and suppressed feelings."--Boston Globe
"Mr. Banks uses his sturdy gifts as a writer -- his plain-spoken language, his sympathy for the downtrodden and depressed, his eye for detail (those unstrapped shoes, flipped off Ellen's feet) -- to give us visceral portraits of people trying to make sense of the past and the present."--New York Times
"[T]he writing rings with the weight of decisions made in constrained circumstances, decisions that become more moving because of how common they are... There's a reflective quality, a sense of choices made, of consequence, in which redemption and resignation may be two sides of the same coin."--Los Angeles Times
Book Description:
"[O]ne of the best books I've read in years"--Real Simple magazine
"While these exquisitely crafted stories are highly personal, they are also permeated by a sense of sadness about the death of the American dream, as the country struggles, out of work and seemingly out of hope."--Publishers Weekly
A resounding collection by an essential American writer.--Booklist
."..an exceptionally well-written, engaging, unified collection"--New York Journal of Books
."..Banks's short fiction is relentlessly realistic, never cynical, and always attentive to the human condition."--Shelf Awareness
"These characters are all broken in wonderfully literary ways ('When a terrible thing happens, and it's your own damn fault, there's no closure, he thought. Whatever happened, you live with it.') but Banks is primarily concerned with telling a good story, and the pages fly by."--Daily Beast
"It's a gift to experience such expertly evoked pathos, to see how Banks meticulously picks out and exposes the strands of his characters' muddled and suppressed feelings."--Boston Globe
"Mr. Banks uses his sturdy gifts as a writer -- his plain-spoken language, his sympathy for the downtrodden and depressed, his eye for detail (those unstrapped shoes, flipped off Ellen's feet) -- to give us visceral portraits of people trying to make sense of the past and the present."--New York Times
"[T]he writing rings with the weight of decisions made in constrained circumstances, decisions that become more moving because of how common they are... There's a reflective quality, a sense of choices made, of consequence, in which redemption and resignation may be two sides of the same coin."--Los Angeles Times
The first story collection in a decade from the great Russell Banks
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherClerkenwell Press
- Publication date2014
- ISBN 10 1846689724
- ISBN 13 9781846689727
- BindingPaperback
- Rating
(No Available Copies)
Search Books: Create a WantIf you know the book but cannot find it on AbeBooks, we can automatically search for it on your behalf as new inventory is added. If it is added to AbeBooks by one of our member booksellers, we will notify you!
Create a Want