{"product_id":"cries-for-help-various-padgett-powell-9781936787319","title":"Cries for Help, Various: Stories","description":"\u003cb\u003eNamed a Best Book of 2015 by NPR and \u003ci\u003eVanity Fair\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Rifles through fear, identity, meaning, and cultural memory in forty-four short, surreal stories.\" --\u003ci\u003eVanity Fair\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"By turns moving, funny, and maddening.... very much in the key of Donald Barthelme.\" \u003ci\u003e--The New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Somehow both grounded and absurd, each one of the stories trying get at that heart of the confusion and sadness at the core of contemporary life.\" --\u003ci\u003eVICE\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom the highly acclaimed author of \u003ci\u003eEdisto\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Interrogative Mood\u003c\/i\u003e, Padgett Powell's new collection of stories, \u003ci\u003eCries for Help, Various, \u003c\/i\u003e follows his mentor Donald Barthelme's advice that \"wacky mode\" must \"break their hearts.\" The surrealistic and comical terrain of most of the forty-four stories here is grounded by a real preoccupation with longing, fear, work, loneliness, and cultural nostalgia. These universal concerns are given exhilarating life by way of Powell's \"wit, his . . . dazzling turns of phrase\" (Scott Spencer). \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePadgett Powell's language is both lofty and low-down, his tone cranky and heartfelt, exuberant and inconsolable. His characters rebel against convention and ambition, hoping to maintain their very sanity by doing so. Even the most hilarious or fantastical stories in \u003ci\u003eCries for Help, Various\u003c\/i\u003e ring gloriously, poignantly, true.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Padgett Powell\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1936787318\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781936787319\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Catapult\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/08\/2015\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 200\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.60lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.20h x 5.60w x 0.70d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/29\/2015\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 07\/01\/2015\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/18\/2015\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/04\/2015 pg. 19","brand":"Padgett Powell","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43994452984063,"sku":"9781936787319","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_43b5fa29-1103-4fdc-bd49-2c11605d26bf.jpg?v=1683330243","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/cries-for-help-various-padgett-powell-9781936787319","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}