With a deft command of comic distance and abiding compassion for her characters, Lynn Levin in House Parties, her debut collection of short fiction, presents us with a broad range of characters who ardently, foolishly, and often with weird invention, relentlessly spar with their fates.
Three friends hike through Yosemite in search of an awe-inspiring waterfall that may or may not exist…a girl on a high-school science trip finds herself abandoned on an island inhabited by aggressive monkeys…a lonely young rabbinical student creates and animates a female form only to see her beloved creature acquire free will…overwhelmed by surveys, an office worker rebels à la Bartleby…a couple believes that a move to a friendly and sophisticated exurban neighborhood will set the stage for happy marriage.
Many of the characters in House Parties see themselves with a certain bemused humor and strive to stay self-possessed even as they struggle against the strange and undeserved things that happen to them. At other times, the characters-sometimes successfully, sometimes not-keep trying to escape the gravity of a plight they created or a problem they refuse to resolve. In observant and generous prose, Levin writes in tones that range from the wry, witty, and hilarious to the lyrical and deeply serious.
Author: Lynn Levin
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Spuyten Duyvil
Published: 05/01/2023
Pages: 442
Weight: 0.76lbs
Size: 7.00h x 5.00w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9781959556039
Language: English
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