{"product_id":"stiff-steve-hughes-9780814345887","title":"Stiff","description":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eSurreal stories highlighting the struggle of carving out a home for one's self.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith a hearty helping of Detroit grit, the stories in Stiff pay homage to a city turned upside down by economic abandonment. Steve Hughes pushes the boundaries of realism, creating situations that seem odd and otherworldly. In his Detroit, witches cast spells to improve their husbands, chickens grow from seeds, and house painters with anger management issues declare themselves poet laureates. The characters in Stiff are all searching for something in each other--a certain wholeness or understanding, a place to rest and call home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHughes writes with great empathy about people who are struggling with their lives. In \"Ripening,\" a man and woman in an illicit affair witness their genitals leaving their bodies for a rendezvous. In \"Dexter's Song,\" a drug-addicted saxophone player meets a bored suburban woman who gives him her ex-boyfriend's sax, which unleashes a series of disasters but the instrument is so fine, so perfect, that when he holds it to his lips he can do no wrong. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReaders of contemporary fiction will enjoy this inventive and evocative collection of stories.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Steve Hughes\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0814345883\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780814345887\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Wayne State University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/05\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 176\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.55lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.40h x 5.40w x 0.50d","brand":"Steve Hughes","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46795337302271,"sku":"9780814345887","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_347a707e-ae94-4341-b1b4-ae3f560e0802.jpg?v=1744947293","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/stiff-steve-hughes-9780814345887","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}