Aliens in the Prime of Their Lives
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Book Overview
In this, his first collection of stories since his celebrated, award-winning Last Days of the Dog-Men, Brad Watson takes us even deeper into the riotous, appalling, and mournful oddity of human beings.
In prose so perfectly pitched as to suggest some celestial harmony, he writes about every kind of domestic discord: unruly or distant children, alienated spouses, domestic abuse, loneliness, death, divorce. In his masterful title novella, a freshly married teenaged couple are visited by an unusual pair of inmates from a nearby insane asylum--and find out exactly how mismatched they really are.
With exquisite tenderness, Watson relates the brutality of both nature and human nature. There's no question about it. Brad Watson writes so well--with such an all-seeing, six-dimensional view of human hopes, inadequacies, and rare grace--that he must be an extraterrestrial.
In prose so perfectly pitched as to suggest some celestial harmony, he writes about every kind of domestic discord: unruly or distant children, alienated spouses, domestic abuse, loneliness, death, divorce. In his masterful title novella, a freshly married teenaged couple are visited by an unusual pair of inmates from a nearby insane asylum--and find out exactly how mismatched they really are.
With exquisite tenderness, Watson relates the brutality of both nature and human nature. There's no question about it. Brad Watson writes so well--with such an all-seeing, six-dimensional view of human hopes, inadequacies, and rare grace--that he must be an extraterrestrial.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0393338851
ISBN13:9780393338850
Release Date:March 2011
Publisher:W. W. Norton & Company
Length:272 Pages
Weight:0.54 lbs.
Dimensions:0.7" x 5.6" x 8.2"
Customer Reviews
4 ratings
Aliens in the Prime of Their Lives
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 14 years ago
Full page, very positive review by Jacob Silverman in the NYT Book Review, 4/28/10, p. 14.
Brad Watson: Welcome Back
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 14 years ago
I've been waiting for something new to read from Brad Watson since Heaven of Mercury. He works slowly, and thank God. This book is good in a way that creeps on you. There's no fireworks as far as flashiness goes. Unless of course, you're a writer yourself. In that case, you'll realize that Watson is blazing trails in term of narative voice. His stories "Falen Nellie" and "Alamo Plaza" are the proof in the pudding. I love this book and recommend to readers and writers alike.
Stunning and Delightful
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 14 years ago
Eleven short stories and a short novella comprise this absolutely wonderful collection. They are stories about not so ordinary people in ordinary situations. A quarrelsome couple, a divorced man trying to have a weekend visit with his son, an overwhelmed single mother. I had to stop, take a deep breath, and think after every one of them. Amazing stories, dazzling. Author Brad Watson writes in a lucid, unaffected style, drawing the reader into the lives of his troubled characters. I think what makes his writing so delightful is his obvious compassion for his characters, and the flashes of humor that emerge from their sufferings. In the title piece he ventures into magic realism, a young couple's journey through what was and what could've been. If you're a fan of the short story, you must get this one and read it. It's absolutely dazzling. I recommend it most highly. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.
where the boundaries between human, animal and otherworldly are blurred
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 14 years ago
a cross between raymond carver, richard ford and david lynch. each story takes a wonderfully unexpected, usually inspired weird/odd/brilliant turn. deft, moving characterizations. watson's is a world of great compassion amidst (comical) violence, where the boundaries between human, animal and otherworldly are blurred. a very unique american voice. thoroughly enjoyed.
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