Items related to Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine: Stories
Synopsis
Twelve new stories that teeter between wicked humor and stinging pathos, all told in a voice that the Boston Globe called "so relentless and felonious that you ought to need a permit to carry it." Thom Jones's world encompasses dilapidated right arenas, state mental hospitals, and chaotic emergency rooms. The inhabitants are his brilliantly etched characters, who battle desperately against fate in a game of life they cannot win but dare not lose.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review
Welcome back to the world of boot camp, boxing gyms, psych wards and pharmaceutical highs. Once again, Thom Jones seems less to write fiction than to allow his characters to pour their stories directly into the reader's ear. Here the cast includes some of the usual suspects--jittery fighters, Marines, Vietnam vets--as well as some new but equally quirky voices, from a nebbishy vice principal to a 92-year-old woman. First seen in Jones's debut collection, The Pugilist at Rest, the crack Marine recon team Break On Thru makes several more sorties--most notably in "Fields of Purple Forever," in which the civilian Sergeant Ondine takes up swimming much the same way Odysseus, say, took up sailing: "Ondine a night swimmer and he all over the night. Captain of the night. I swim in the fields of purple. Nothing and no one can harm me forever."
"Tarantula" chronicles the rise and fall of John Harold Hammermeister, vice principal of W.E.B. Du Bois High School, where the students fail to be impressed by his caged spider and the frustrated janitors prove his undoing. "My Heroic Mythic Journey" follows the downward career arc of its boxer protagonist, who becomes featherweight champion of the world only to fall for a "bleach-bottle blond with a cheating heart" and a loaded .38. Most winning of all is the elderly narrator of "Daddy's Girl," who manages to preserve her faith even with two dead husbands, countless family tragedies and eyelids growing up into her eyes: "You have to believe like a little child. Believe it because it's impossible." Only the overlong concluding story, "You Cheated, You Lied," disappoints; as chaotic as the main characters' mood swings, it follows two crazy teenagers in love and off their medication. But this tale is an exception in an otherwise noteworthy collection. Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine only confirms Jones's place as one of the most original American writers at work today. --Mary Park
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherBack Bay Books
- Publication date2000
- ISBN 10 0316472409
- ISBN 13 9780316472401
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages320
Other Popular Editions of the Same Title
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Stock Image
Sonny Liston Was a Friend of M
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Acceptable. Item in acceptable condition including possible liquid damage. As well, answers may be filled in. Lastly, may be missing components, e.g. missing DVDs, CDs, Access Code, etc. Seller Inventory # 00034313309
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine: Stories
Seller: Wonder Book, Frederick, MD, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: As New. Like New condition. A near perfect copy that may have very minor cosmetic defects. Seller Inventory # O11D-02301
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine : Stories
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. 1 Edition. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # 420016-6
Quantity: 2 available
Stock Image
Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine : Stories
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. 1 Edition. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # GRP64596516
Quantity: 2 available
Stock Image
Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine: Stories
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.75. Seller Inventory # G0316472409I3N00
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine: Stories
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Fair. No Jacket. Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.75. Seller Inventory # G0316472409I5N00
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine: Stories
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.75. Seller Inventory # G0316472409I3N00
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine: Stories
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Fair. No Jacket. Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.75. Seller Inventory # G0316472409I5N00
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine: Stories
Seller: Irish Booksellers, Portland, ME, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. SHIPS FROM USA. Used books have different signs of use and do not include supplemental materials such as CDs, Dvds, Access Codes, charts or any other extra material. All used books might have various degrees of writing, highliting and wear and tear and possibly be an ex-library with the usual stickers and stamps. Dust Jackets are not guaranteed and when still present, they will have various degrees of tear and damage. All images are Stock Photos, not of the actual item. book. Seller Inventory # 11-0316472409-G
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine: Stories
Seller: Books Unplugged, Amherst, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Buy with confidence! Book is in good condition with minor wear to the pages, binding, and minor marks within 0.85. Seller Inventory # bk0316472409xvz189zvxgdd
Quantity: 1 available