The Dog of the Marriage - Softcover

Hempel, Amy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1847247326 ISBN 13: 9781847247322

Publisher: riverrun, 2009

Synopsis

A quietly powerful presence in American fiction in during the past two decades, these collected stories show the true scale of Hempel's achievement. Her compact fictions, populated by smart neurotic somewhat damaged narrators, speak grandly to the longings and insecurities in all of us, and in a voice that is bracingly direct and sneakily profound. These are stories about people who make choices that seem inevitable, whose longings and misgivings evoke eternal human experience. With her trademark compassion and wit, Hempel takes readers into the marriages, minor disasters and moments of revelation in an uneasy America.

About this title

Review:

The toughest party of reading The Dog of the Marriage is how much your jaw muscles ache from the effort it takes not to laugh and cry in front of strangers. Amy Hempel is my god among writers' Chuck Palahniuk. (Chuck Palahniuk)

Her work is an exemplar of the truth that the short story can be the briefest of affairs, but it can stay in the mind forever - Glasgow Herald. (Glasgow Herald)

These are astonishing stories, hilarious and surprising and insightful... if there's a funnier, smarter or richer book published this year, I will eat my shoes - Guardian. (Guardian)

Reaffirms her impressive mastery of fiction ... Hempel's wit, insight and crisp writing make her work consistently powerful' Observer. (Observer)

From the Publisher:

Reviews for The Dog of the Marriage:
Hempel is a writer's writer, with an ability to scar rather than scare ... In film, her process would be compared to Stanley Kubrick or Terrence Malick, in music, Kate Bush or Leonard Cohen ... The Dog of the Marriage is the fruit of a quietly extraordinary life spent shaping language into magic - Sunday Business Post
For those who prefer their fiction astringent, this book of short stories is the equivalent of a vat of whiskey sours. I sucked it back in a couple of long sessions and emerged high on Hempel's cask-strength prose ... Writing this beautiful is intrinsically cheering - Time Out (5 Star Review)
The story's power comes from its minimalism, something that has inspired fans such as Chuck Pahlaniuk ... a fascinating collection, well worth exploring for those interested in short fiction - The Catholic Herald

About this edition

• Publisher: riverrun
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1847247326
• ISBN 13: 9781847247322
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 432