(from the archives)
Sarah Weinman reviews mysteries for the New York Times. This review predates that as well as her many non-fiction books on true crime.
Thom Jones: The Pugilist at Rest: Stories. This
short story collection is 30 years old and it feels like it was written
this past year. It blew me away with its searing depictions of army
members in the midst of cracking up, women caught in self-destructive
relationships, and other people locked into patterns that are destined to
repeat themselves and produce worlds of hurt. Jones lived and hurt for
years before he produced the stories that made up this 1993 collection,
and even though a couple more
volumes of stories followed, it really feels like he's been off the
radar for years. Hopefully he'll be back soon with more tales of the
dark side of reality.
10 comments:
I've not read Jones' work before. I'll have to give it a try.
Sarah Weinman has indeed gone from one good thing to another...
I've heard about Sara Weinman but haven't read her work. I'll have to rectify that!
Sarah is pretty amazing. Her book on the real Lolita is great.
Thom Jones's first professional publication, as I recall, was in THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SF...his agent (most likely) or he chose to be embarrassed by this later on.
https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?61265 (the issue with Leo and Dianne Dillon's lovely cover for Harlan Ellison's "The Deathbird"--worth the look by itself.)
Sticky key again--she's Diane Dillon.
Good morning,
Please include mine for this week as well: https://casualdebris.blogspot.com/2023/12/casual-shorts-isfdb-top-short-fiction_12.html
Thanks
I missed her review and don't know Thom Jones's work at all. But will check it out. The library has several of his books.
I did finish the Lore Segal collection. Lydia Davis, a writer I've read, highly recommended Lucia Berlin's A MANUAL FOR CLEANING WOMEN: Selected Stories, for which she also wrote the foreword. These are clearly at least partly autobiographical - living in the Southwest, laundromats, alcoholic with an alcoholic mother, four children, etc. She was a good writer.
I have a Lydia Davis collection I have never opened. Shame on me. I read at the Berlin thing but not enough. You might be the most widely-read short story reader in the country.
You keep adding to my long list of short story writers to look out for. I can add his name to my "look for at at the book sale" list and if I am unsuccessful there, I will buy online.
I have ordered a (reasonably priced) copy of the Lily King book that you talked about last year, FIVE TUESDAYS IN WINTER.
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