Overview

Julie Orringer, Adam Johnson, William Gay, David Benioff, Ana Menendez, Maile Meloy, Amanda Davis, Jennifer Vanderbes, Alix Ohlin, and John Murray: These are just some of the acclaimed writers whose early work has appeared in Best New American Voices since its launch in 2000. The 2005 edition features a new crop of promising stories selected by novelist Francine Prose, who continues the tradition of identifying the best young writers on the cusp of their careers.With pieces culled from hundreds of prestigious writing programs, such as the Iowa Writers' Workshop and Johns Hopkins, and from summer conferences including Sewanee and Bread Loaf-and with a complete list of contact information for these programs-this rich collection showcases tomorrow's literary stars. A Harvest Original

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9780156028998

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Reviews

PRAISE FOR THE BEST NEW AMERICAN VOICES SERIES This book reminds us of the range of imagination and experience informing fiction today. -Chicago Tribune (Editor's Choice) Demonstrates the potent force of American writers emerging from distinguished writing programs. -Elle The best of the new voices address life a far distance from academia and with distinctive language...As promised, promising voices. --Kirkus If this anthology of up-and-coming writers is any indication, the prognosis for the written word is very good. --Publishers Weekly A welcome injection of off-beat and risk-taking stories marked by poignancy and humor. A meaningful contribution to the series. --Library Journal

Seventeen stories or novel excerpts, chosen by guest editor Prose from, presumably, the most talented among the nation's university writing programs. The best of the new voices here address life a far distance from academia and with distinctive language. Rattawut Lapcharoensap's Farangs is told from the perspective of a Thai resort owner's son: June: the Germans come to the island . . . speaking like spitting July: the Italians, the French, the British, the Americans . . . . Americans are the fattest, the stingiest of the bunch. They may pretend to like pad thai or grilled prawns or the occasional curry, but twice a week they need their . . . hamburgers and their pizzas. They're also the worst drunks. In Frances Hwang's poignant Garden City, a Chinese couple invest in an unrentable apartment in Queens, attracted by its gardens, and play out the tensions connected with the death of their son from cancer at 15 through the trials of renting to a woman who loses her job and then, perhaps, her mind. (This is Hwang's second appearance in a Best New American Voices anthology.) There are also more predictable stories of thwarted romance. Joshua Ferris's narrator in More Abandon stays at the office all night, becoming increasingly reckless. He leaves Genevieve, a female coworker, five long confessional messages, switches one woman's pig office decor for a guy's pictures of a girl, taking much too long to reach its conclusion that Maybe he wants to be fired. The only cure to loving Genevieve. In Dog Children, by Tamara Guirado, Maggie tries to save her relationship with Avashai (formerly Donny, her Irish/Cherokee lover) by watching porn with him in her barn apartment near Seattle: . . . they could hear the soft nickering of the neighbor's horses while on the television screen, a small blond woman in a red neckerchief straddled the supine body of Long Dong Silver. And Rebecca Barry, in Snow Fever, superbly captures a barroom's pseudo intimacy. As promised, promising voices. (Kirkus Reviews)

PRAISE FOR THE BEST NEW AMERICAN VOICES SERIES<br> This book reminds us of the range of imagination and experience informing fiction today. -Chicago Tribune (Editor's Choice) <br> Demonstrates the potent force of American writers emerging from distinguished writing programs. -Elle <br>

Author Information

John Kulka is executive editor-at-large at Harvard University Press and lives in Connecticut. Natalie Danford is a freelance writer and book critic whose work has appeared in People, Salon, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Sun-Times, and many other publications. She is the author of a novel, Inheritance, and lives in New York City.

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