Overview

'In this first collection the author brings the virtuosity of Greene and le Carre to tales of foreign adventures' Boston Globe This debut collection from the man Malcolm Gladwell described as a genius took readers by storm. From the slums of Haiti to a golf course in Myanmar, and from the Colombian jungle to the diamond mines of Sierra Leone, Ben Fountain's impeccable and devastatingly funny stories describe a world in political and social upheaval, and the lives caught in the balance.

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9780857867117

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Reviews

* Exceptional ... Each of these eight stories is as rich as a novel ... Heartbreaking, absurd, deftly drawn New York Times * Fountain has the storytelling gifts to bring the world home to us and a moral compass set to true north -- Gary Shteyngart * Fountain writes with sparkle and dark humour Daily Express * In this first collection the author brings the virtuosity of Greene and le Carre to tales of foreign adventures Boston Globe * Impeccable ... an heir to Paul Theroux Kirkus Reviews * It is such an unexpected joy, in this age of introspection, to discover an American writer with a global outlook -- Jim Crace, Author Of Being Dead * It's not merely good; it's Pulitzer Prize-quality good -- Praise For Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk San Francisco Chronicle * A collection of stories dealing with moral choices, with the complexity of what being decent can mean ... It's funny. And human. There's no pretense or cleverness - it's just a beautiful book Boston Globe * Fountain prowls similar turf to that of Tom Bissell, Gary Shteyngart and even early Thomas Pynchon ... an impressive performance from an author with a gift for reaching into the past and producing something compelling and new Los Angeles Times Book Review * Ben Fountain writes the kind of stories that Robert Louis Stevenson, Joseph Conrad and Graham Greene used to write ... full of complex adventure and off-balance humour San Diego Union-Tribune * [Fountain] offers pointed prose, nimble revelation . . [and] a rueful generosity towards a string of well-intentioned bumblers Philadelphia Inquirer

* Exceptional ... Each of these eight stories is as rich as a novel ... Heartbreaking, absurd, deftly drawn New York Times * Fountain has the storytelling gifts to bring the world home to us and a moral compass set to true north -- Gary Shteyngart * Brave, intelligent fiction Independent on Sunday * The work of a very talented writer who is keenly engaged with analysing American identity in the wider world... Beyond the pleasures of Fountain's vivid image-making and fluent storytelling, his collection's great accomplishment is the depth of reality it gives the foreign settings -- Chris Power Guardian * It is such an unexpected joy, in this age of introspection, to discover an American writer with a global outlook -- Jim Crace, Author Of Being Dead * Fountain writes with sparkle and dark humour Daily Express * In this first collection the author brings the virtuosity of Greene and le Carre to tales of foreign adventures Boston Globe * Impeccable ... an heir to Paul Theroux Kirkus Reviews * A collection of stories dealing with moral choices, with the complexity of what being decent can mean ... It's funny. And human. There's no pretense or cleverness - it's just a beautiful book Boston Globe * Fountain prowls similar turf to that of Tom Bissell, Gary Shteyngart and even early Thomas Pynchon ... an impressive performance from an author with a gift for reaching into the past and producing something compelling and new Los Angeles Times Book Review * Ben Fountain writes the kind of stories that Robert Louis Stevenson, Joseph Conrad and Graham Greene used to write ... full of complex adventure and off-balance humour San Diego Union-Tribune * [Fountain] offers pointed prose, nimble revelation . . [and] a rueful generosity towards a string of well-intentioned bumblers Philadelphia Inquirer

Exceptional ... Each of these eight stories is as rich as a novel ... Heartbreaking, absurd, deftly drawn * New York Times * Fountain has the storytelling gifts to bring the world home to us and a moral compass set to true north -- Gary Shteyngart Brave, intelligent fiction * Independent on Sunday * The work of a very talented writer who is keenly engaged with analysing American identity in the wider world... Beyond the pleasures of Fountain's vivid image-making and fluent storytelling, his collection's great accomplishment is the depth of reality it gives the foreign settings -- Chris Power * Guardian * It is such an unexpected joy, in this age of introspection, to discover an American writer with a global outlook -- Jim Crace, author of BEING DEAD Fountain writes with sparkle and dark humour * Daily Express * In this first collection the author brings the virtuosity of Greene and le Carre to tales of foreign adventures * Boston Globe * Impeccable ... an heir to Paul Theroux * Kirkus Reviews * A collection of stories dealing with moral choices, with the complexity of what being decent can mean ... It's funny. And human. There's no pretense or cleverness - it's just a beautiful book * Boston Globe * Fountain prowls similar turf to that of Tom Bissell, Gary Shteyngart and even early Thomas Pynchon ... an impressive performance from an author with a gift for reaching into the past and producing something compelling and new * Los Angeles Times Book Review * Ben Fountain writes the kind of stories that Robert Louis Stevenson, Joseph Conrad and Graham Greene used to write ... full of complex adventure and off-balance humour * San Diego Union-Tribune * [Fountain] offers pointed prose, nimble revelation . . [and] a rueful generosity towards a string of well-intentioned bumblers * Philadelphia Inquirer *

Author Information

Ben Fountain is the author of Brief Encounters with Che Guevara. He has received the PEN/Hemingway Award, the Barnes & Noble Discover Award for Fiction, a Whiting Writers Award, an O. Henry Prize, two Pushcart Prizes, and two Texas Institute of Letters Short Story Awards, among other honours and awards. His fiction has been published in Harper's, The Paris Review, Zoetrope: All-Story and Stories from the South: The Year's Best.

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