Items related to Looking for War: Stories
A debut collection of short fiction from the author of the novel Leaving the Land, a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Douglas Unger's fiction is sharp-edged and compelling, whether he's exploring his own boyhood on the street ("Autobiography") or the life of a student lab assistant who bonds with a burnt-out rhesus monkey ("Leslie and Sam") or the strange fate of a young woman who returns from a second honeymoon on a paradisiacal Brazilian island to succumb to a mysterious disease ("Tide Pool"). The collection is capped by the powerful novella "Looking for War," where a would-be war correspondent, whose older brother is a shell-shocked Vietnam vet, stumbles upon his own war in a grisly five-minute action in the jungles of Paraguay. Douglas Unger is as sensitive and knowledgeable about matters of the heart as he is about war.
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About the Author:
Douglas Unger is the author of four novels, including Leaving the Land, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and most recently, Voices from Silence, about repression and terror in Argentina. He is currently director of the International MFA Program in Creative Writing at the University of Las Vegas.
From Publishers Weekly:
The bellicose theme of the title novella permeates all eight tales in this occasionally detached collection by Unger (Leaving the Land; Voices from Silence). In "Looking for War," an innocent question at a dinner party prompts the narrator to retreat into memories of war in Vietnam and Paraguay ("The smell of blood was everywhere, heavy, iron-filled, vaguely fishy, unmistakably human"), and bitterly judge the callous American insularity of his fellow guests. "The Writer's Widow" is a delicious send-up of the complicated etiquette that rules the writing world, in which the central question is whether "the character of writers has anything to do with their eventual reputations." The perennial dance of human courtship is on display in "Leslie and Sam," as is the heart-wrenching bond between scientists and the primates they use as lab animals. And in "Autobiography" and "Matisse," the author mines his own childhood efficiently and chillingly, portraying irresponsible grown-ups who lambaste their children with "heavy boozy blasts of their unhappiness." Overwrought language ("Resentment was like a black spider spinning away inside their love," from "Tide Pool") detracts in a few of the narratives, and the strangely distant authorial voice creates a barrier to true connection. The interesting settings and involved characters, however, demand attention with their colorful flourishes and voices.
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Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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- PublisherOntario Review Pr
- Publication date2004
- ISBN 10 0865381119
- ISBN 13 9780865381117
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages150
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Looking for War and Other Stories
Published by
Ontario Review Press, Princeton, New Jersey
(2004)
ISBN 10: 0865381119
ISBN 13: 9780865381117
New
Hardcover
First Edition
Signed
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. NOT a library discard (illustrator). First Edition (so stated). Princeton, New Jersey: Ontario Review Press, 2004. INSCRIBED and SIGNED twice by the AUTHOR. The inscription: "For Carol - With deep thanks for your kindness, your support, your friendship." is on the half title page and is signed "Blessings, Doug." The author has signed again, this time in full, directly on the title page. BRAND NEW in a BRAND NEW dust jacket. Perfect condition. NO chips. NO tears. NO creases. NO rubbing. NO fading. Sharp corners. Bright, shiny, clean, square and tight. NO bookplate. The debut collection of short fiction from the author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist novel, LEAVING THE LAND. Bound in the original blue cloth, stamped in black. From the pristine dust jacket: "Douglas Unger's fiction is sharp-edged and compelling, whether he's exploring his own boyhood on the street in 'Autobiography' and 'Matisse,' or the life of a student lab assistant who bonds with a burnt-out rhesus monkey ("Leslie and Sam"), or the strange fate of a young woman, in 'Tide Pool,' who returns from a second honeymoon on a paradisiacal Brazilian island to succumb to a mysterious malady. The collection is capped by the powerful novella 'Looking for War,' where a would-be war correspondent, whose older brother is a shell-shocked Vietnam vet, stumbles upon his own war in a brief but grisly action in the jungles of Paraguay.". INSCRIBED / SIGNED by the AUTHOR. First Edition (so stated). Hardcover. New/New. Illus. by NOT a library discard. (x), 189pp. Great Packaging, Fast Shipping. Seller Inventory # 025624
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LOOKING FOR WAR: STORIES
Published by
Ontario Review Pr
(2004)
ISBN 10: 0865381119
ISBN 13: 9780865381117
New
Hardcover
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! 0.9. Seller Inventory # Q-0865381119
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