American Short Story
Masterpieces: A Rich Selection of Recent Fiction from America's Best Modern
Writers (1989):
Edited by Raymond Carver
and Tom Jenks.
Published by Dell.
Paperback.
ISBN-10: 0440204232
ISBN-13: 978-0440204237
Description:
Powerful short fiction
that bears witness to American lives … and dreams.
This highly acclaimed
collection of short stories by American writers contains only the best
literary art of the past four decades. With a bias towards realism, editors
Raymond Carver and Tom Jenks have selected fiction that “tells a story” – and
tells it with a masterful handling of language, situation, and insight.
But what is so special
about this volume is that it mirrors our age, our concerns, and our lives.
Whether it’s the end of a marriage, as in Bobbie Ann Manson’s “Shiloh,” or the
struggle with self-esteem and weight in Andre Dubus’s “The Fat Girl,” the 36 works
included here probe issues that give us that “shock of recognition” that is the
hallmark of great art – wonderful, absorbing fiction that will be read and
reread for decades to come.
“An
essential collection of contemporary fiction. If you want to change your life (and
if you don’t, why read at all?), this is one book you can’t afford to be
without.” – David Jauss, The Short Story Review.