Esquire's Big Book of Fiction

A definitive anthology of outstanding short fiction from the pages of Esquire magazine from the early 1930s to the late 1990s showcases contributions by Ernest Hemingway, Albert Camus, Jack Kerouac, Flannery O'Connor, Saul Bellow, Ken Kesey, Louise Erdrich, William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and other distinguished authors. Original.

When it comes to fiction, writes Esquire's literary editor Miller in her introduction, the magazine's mandate has always been to "publish stories that take hold of you and don't let go." To see just how those stories have evolved over the past 70 years is one of the pleasures of this anthology, which gathers 54 pieces that have appeared in the magazine since its 1933 launch. The collection shows off Esquire's distinguished literary tradition with stories by the leading lights of each era, from Ernest Hemingway to David Foster Wallace. Hemingway's "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," John Steinbeck's "The Lonesome Vigilante," Flannery O'Connor's "Parker's Back" and Vladimir Nabokov's "The Visit to the Museum" mingle with pieces by Thomas McGuane, Russell Banks, Tony Earley, Aleksandar Hemon and Antonya Nelson. Esquire was among the first to publish Raymond Carver, with the 1971 "Neighbors," about a couple enthralled with their vacationing neighbors' apartment. The magazine also published early work by Philip Roth, such as "A Jewish Patient Begins His Analysis," perhaps more familiar to readers as the opening of Portnoy's Complaint, and by Don DeLillo, whose "In the Men's Room of the Sixteenth Century" follows Lady Madonna, a cop dressed as a woman, as he wanders Times Square on the anniversary of the beheading of St. Thomas More. Most of the contributors will probably be familiar to readers, but then, this isn't the place to find the latest crop of baby geniuses it's a chance to rediscover some of the best of 20th-century short fiction.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

This collection from Esquire celebrates short fiction with 49 of the best selections that have appeared in the magazine's pages since 1933. Included are works from Ernest Hemingway, John Cheever, Irwin Shaw, John Steinbeck, and F. Scott Fitzgerald as well as from the more contemporary David Foster Wallace, Tony Earley, and Don DeLillo. Seven women writers (Flannery O'Connor, Jayne Anne Phillips, and others) are also represented. (This disproportion is understandable given Esquire's male focus and the rarity of female voices in the early years covered.) The stories offer a wide range, from fishing and camping adventures to a grim tale of school violence and religion. One of the most poignant stories, "The Wish," Joanna Scott's account of a black married college student, shows how ambition and hard work cannot bring protection from the random violence in today's urban neighborhoods. An informative introduction by Miller, the current literary editor, traces Esquire's long history of introducing new fiction to its readers. This anthology will delight readers seeking to sample some of the best short fiction in the 20th century. Highly recommended for academic and public libraries. - Nancy R. Ives, SUNY at Geneseo
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.