Items related to The Drinking of Spirits: Stories
Synopsis
Guatemala's tropics, Ohio's lazy suburbs, Florida's down-and-out Ybor City, Madrid's narrow streets and late tapa bar nights -- what Tom Abrams does with all these locales is almost as luxurious as what he does with the characters inhabiting them. Readers familiar with A Bad Piece of Luck will once more appreciate the down-and-dirty realism Abrams employs, but will find an added element . . . kismet? Well, that implies love, and while dimestore romance is as absent as the Dow Jones Index, there is love in these stories, a love of life and love of humanity -- no matter how mired it may become. So yes, kismet.
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From the Back Cover
If Tom Abrams sang the cracker blues in his novel A Bad Piece of Luck, he's playing jazz riffs in this collection. These are gritty stories: stories of loss, abandonment, war, confusion, and despair. But Abrams keeps such an ear out for character that we come away from each story nodding, "Yes, yes" in a strange affirmation. And he has an equally observant eye for setting. You'll shiver in a Vietnamese monsoon while watching a swollen, hungry river, you'll sweat in a Guatemalan jungle bar and its brothel, and you'll bounce in a French train as you look out the window in wonderment to see a friend from the narrator's past sharing a ghostly bottle with two winos. Just as if death, by nearing this Bayonne station stop, had somehow been cheated. Just as if the bullet this friend had placed in his head five years before had been a magician's sordid trick. . . . Yes, yes, and yes.
About the Author
Tom Abrams grew up in Ohio and Kentucky. He served in the Army, along the DMZ in Vietnam, in an artillery unit attached to the Marines. Returning to the States, he received an MA from the University of South Florida in Tampa. Much of his time there was spent in Ybor City. Tom and his wife Jane lived in Belize for a year and in Madrid for five years. They have returned to Tampa and both teach at the University of South Florida.
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- PublisherLivingston Pr
- Publication date2000
- ISBN 10 0942979702
- ISBN 13 9780942979701
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages169
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The Drinking of Spirits: Stories
Seller: Redbrick Books, Springfield, MA, U.S.A.
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Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. has some edge wear , contents has some underlining in pencil but mostly clean, inscribed by author on title page and dated 2/21/01. Signed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # 007547
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The Drinking of Spirits
Published by
Livingston Press AL 2000, 2000
ISBN 10: 0942979702
ISBN 13: 9780942979701
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Softcover
Seller: The Book Junction, Shippensburg, PA, U.S.A.
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Softcover. Condition: VG. Dust Jacket Condition: na. VG na Softcover Light rubbing & edgewear; overall clean & tight copy. 170 pages. Review letter inside. Seller Inventory # 3872
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The Drinking of Spirits: Stories
Published by
Livingston Press, Livingston, Alabama, U.S.A., 2000
ISBN 10: 0942979702
ISBN 13: 9780942979701
Used
Soft cover
Signed
Seller: Callaghan Books South, New Port Richey, FL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Soft cover. Condition: As New. Press at the University of West Alabama. Very large softcover, glossy shades of gray, color photo of view of city street on front wrapper, color photo on back wrapper with praise from Tampa Tribune and St. Petersburg Times, 170 pages, brief biographical note. On first front end paperin black felt-tip pen: "Tony--Thanks for your help. Tom." Mint. Signed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # 36631
Quantity: 1 available