Awards
2011 Pen/Faulkner Award Winner
Synopses & Reviews
“One of Americas finest writers.”—San Francisco Chronicle “Concentrated bursts of perfection.”—The Times (London) “Shimmering stories that possess the power and charm to move us.” —The New York Times “Exhilarating.”—Harpers Magazine “Outstanding.”—Christian Science Monitor “Eisenberg simply writes like no one else.”—Elle “Eisenbergs stories possess all the steely beauty of a knife wrapped in velvet.”—The Boston Globe “Dazzling.”—Time Out New York “Magic.”—Newsweek “Comic, elegant and pitch perfect.”—Vanity Fair “One of the great fiction writers living in America today.”—The Dallas Morning News “There arent many contemporary novels as shudderingly intimate and mordantly funny as Eisenbergs best stories.”—The New York Times Book Review
Since 1986 with the publication of her first story collection, Deborah Eisenberg has devoted herself to writing “exquisitely distilled stories” which “present an unusually distinctive portrait of contemporary American life” to quote the MacArthur Foundation. This one volume brings together Transactions in a Foreign Currency (1986), Under the 82nd Airborne (1992), All Around Atlantis (1997) and her most recent collection-Twilight of the Superheroes (2006).
Review
“One of Americas finest storytellers has been anthologized:
The Collected Stories of Deborah Eisenberg (Picador) locates elegant symmetries in uncertain lives navigating uncertain times.”
—VOGUE.com “Sarcastic, self-aware, and often wickedly funny…. Perhaps the most compelling aspect of Eisenbergs stories is the ease with which she captures the fearful excitement of being human, and our reluctance to acknowledge how little our circumstances have to do with our own decisions.”
—Rachael Brown, TheAtlantic.com “If you havent discovered Deborah Eisenbergs beautifully crafted short stories, this is a good choice, because you will want to read and reread them all. These stories are rich and delicate, and linger in the memory to shift and amplify their values. Eisenbergs subtle, intelligent observations put readers in the best company.”
—Prairie Lights Bookstore “What is it like to be a genius? Ask Deborah Eisenberg. The question is not as hyperbolic as it might seem; last year, Eisenberg was awarded a MacArthur fellowship, usually referred to as a ‘Genius Grant. If that award served to spotlight Eisenbergs achievement as one of Americas foremost writers of fiction, this new volume of collected stories confirms it, illustrating that over the past 25 years Eisenberg has become better and better at the things at which, 25 years ago, she was already something of a master….”
—Belinda McKeon, Irish Times “This season, I chose four books of stories to read and recommend. At the top of my list—and highly recommended—is The Collected Stories of Deborah Eisenberg.”
—Ann LaFarge, Hudson Valley News
Review
"Smooth, reflective prose... Drabble's fans will savor these bite-sized examples of her humane intelligence."-Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
From one of America's finest writers ("San Francisco Chronicle") comes this volume that brings together "Transactions in a Foreign Currency, Under the 82nd Airborne, All Around Atlantis," and Eisenberg's most recent collection, "Twilight of the Superheroes."
Synopsis
Twenty-seven short stories by a contemporary master (The New York Times).
Since 1986 with the publication of her first story collection, Deborah Eisenberg has devoted herself to writing exquisitely distilled stories which present an unusually distinctive portrait of contemporary American life to quote the MacArthur Foundation. This one volume brings together Transactions in a Foreign Currency (1986), Under the 82nd Airborne (1992), All Around Atlantis (1997) and Twilight of the Superheroes (2006).
One of America's finest writers.--San Francisco Chronicle Concentrated bursts of perfection.--The Times(London) Shimmering stories that possess the power and charm to move us. --The New York TimesExhilarating.--Harper's Magazine Outstanding.--Christian Science Monitor Eisenberg simply writes like no one else.--Elle Eisenberg's stories possess all the steely beauty of a knife wrapped in velvet.--The Boston Globe Dazzling.--Time Out New York Magic.--Newsweek Comic, elegant and pitch perfect.--Vanity FairOne of the great fiction writers living in America today.--The Dallas Morning News There aren't many contemporary novels as shudderingly intimate and mordantly funny as Eisenberg's best stories.--The New York Times Book Review
Synopsis
The Collected Stories of Deborah Eisenberg contains twenty-seven short stories by a contemporary master (New York Times).
Since 1986 with the publication of her first story collection, Deborah Eisenberg has devoted herself to writing exquisitely distilled stories which present an unusually distinctive portrait of contemporary American life to quote the MacArthur Foundation. This one volume brings together Transactions in a Foreign Currency (1986), Under the 82nd Airborne (1992), All Around Atlantis (1997) and Twilight of the Superheroes (2006).
One of America's finest writers.--San Francisco Chronicle
Concentrated bursts of perfection.--The Times (London)
Synopsis
“One of Americas finest writers.”—San Francisco Chronicle “Concentrated bursts of perfection.”—The Times (London) “Shimmering stories that possess the power and charm to move us.” —The New York Times “Exhilarating.”—Harpers Magazine “Outstanding.”—Christian Science Monitor “Eisenberg simply writes like no one else.”—Elle “Eisenbergs stories possess all the steely beauty of a knife wrapped in velvet.”—The Boston Globe “Dazzling.”—Time Out New York “Magic.”—Newsweek “Comic, elegant and pitch perfect.”—Vanity Fair “One of the great fiction writers living in America today.”—The Dallas Morning News “There arent many contemporary novels as shudderingly intimate and mordantly funny as Eisenbergs best stories.”—The New York Times Book Review
Since 1986 with the publication of her first story collection, Deborah Eisenberg has devoted herself to writing “exquisitely distilled stories” which “present an unusually distinctive portrait of contemporary American life” to quote the MacArthur Foundation. This one volume brings together Transactions in a Foreign Currency (1986), Under the 82nd Airborne (1992), All Around Atlantis (1997) and her most recent collection-Twilight of the Superheroes (2006).
Synopsis
A collection of the famed UK novelist Margaret Drabble's complete short stories.
Synopsis
Margaret Drabbles novels have illuminated the past fifty years, especially the changing lives of women, like no others. Yet her short fiction has its own unique brilliance. Her penetrating evocations of character and place, her wide-ranging curiosity, her sense of irony—all are on display here, in stories that explore marriage, female friendships, the English tourist abroad, love affairs with houses, peace demonstrations, gin and tonics, cultural TV programs; in stories that are perceptive, sharp, and funny. An introduction by the Spanish academic José Fernández places the stories in the context of her life and her novels. This collection is a wonderful recapitulation of a masterly career.
About the Author
Deborah Eisenberg is the author of four collections of stories. She is the recipient of a MacArthur Genius Grant, a Whiting Writers Award, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. She has taught at the University of Virginia since 1994, where she is currently a professor of creative writing.
Table of Contents
Contents
Introduction ix
Note on the Present Edition xxi
Les Liaisons Dangereuses 1
Hassan’s Tower 7
A Voyage to Cythera 23
Faithful Lovers 41
A Pyrrhic Victory 53
Crossing the Alps 63
The Gifts of War 85
A Success Story 103
A Day in the Life of a Smiling Woman 115
Homework 141
The Merry Widow 151
The Dower House at Kellynch:
A Somerset Romance 169
The Caves of God 193
Stepping Westward:
A Topographical Tale 207