Among the Missing: Stories [Advance Reading Copy]

Advance Reading Copy in paperback of Unrevised Proofs. 12 stories, 258pp. Bright, clean & tight copy, unread, in Near Fine condition. "In this haunting, bracing new collection, Dan Chaon shares stories of men, women, and children who live far outside the American Dream, while wondering which decision, which path, or which accident brought them to this place. Chaon imagines today's family instinctively trying to stay together, only to find itself lost in the throes of a chaotic, modern world. In 'Safety Man,' a young widow and her children become increasingly attached to an inflatable protector-doll, as the world outside seems to grow ever more threatening; 'Big Me' follows a lonely, imaginative twelve-year-old boy who believes an older (slightly creepier) version of himself has moved in next door; in 'I Demand to Know Where You're Taking Me,' a man blinded by love for his imprisoned brother ignores the warnings of his distant wife and a talking parrot who both witness things he's never seen; and 'Among the Missing' explores how the death of a family, found buckled in their car at the bottom of a lake, casts a shadow on a small town and intrudes upon the narrator's relationship with his aging mother." [publisher copy] "These stories are filled with a wicked innocence, a wonderful way of seeing what is new in the way we live the lives we've grown used to. He makes us feel the fearfulness available--given the right light, the wrong music--from the ordinary. He honors his readers and his characters with direct language, compelling moments, and a chance to see clearly what is coming toward them."--Frederick Busch. "One of the best short story writers around--Dan Chaon's stories are funny, heartbreaking, beautifully written, and intelligently conceived."--Lorrie Moore. Pristine NF paperback ARC w/bright corners & crisp edges, a square & tight binding w/no creases in spine & no jacket as issued.…