{"product_id":"the-name-of-the-nearest-alex-taylor-9781932511802","title":"The Name of the Nearest River: Stories","description":"2011 Eric Hoffer Award in the General Fiction\u003cbr\u003e2011 The Thomas \u0026amp; Lillie D. Chaffin Award \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Alex Taylor is a fresh new voice, not just in Kentucky, but in American literature.\"'\u003cbr\u003e--Chris Offutt \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eLike a room soaked in the scent of whiskey, perfume, and sweat, Alex Taylor's America is at once intoxicating, vulnerable, and full of brawn. These stories reveal the hidden dangers in the coyote-infested fields, rusty riverbeds, and abandoned logging trails of Kentucky. There we find tactile, misbegotten characters, desperate for the solace found in love, revenge, or just enough coal to keep an elderly woman's stove burning a few more nights. Echoing Flannery O'Connor and William Faulkner, Taylor manages fervor as well as humor in these dusky, shotgun plots, where in one story, a man spends seven days in a jon boat with his fiddle and a Polaroid camera, determined to enact vengeance on the water-logged body of a used car salesman; and in another, a demolition derby enthusiast nicknamed \"Wife\" watches his two wild, burning love interests duke it out, only to determine he would rather be left alone entirely. Together, these stories present a resonant debut collection from an unexpected new voice in Southern fiction. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eAlex Taylor\u003c\/b\u003e has worked as a day laborer on tobacco farms, as a car detailer at a used automotive lot, as a sorghum peddler, as a tender of suburban lawns, at various fast food chains, and at a cigarette lighter factory. He holds an MFA from the University of Mississippi and now teaches at Western Kentucky University. He lives in Rosine, Kentucky.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Alex Taylor\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1932511806\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781932511802\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Sarabande Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/01\/2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 256\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.70lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.50d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/15\/2010 pg. 92\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/15\/2010 pg. 114\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/15\/2010 pg. 28","brand":"Alex Taylor","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43937519960319,"sku":"9781932511802","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_6c349624-7869-480d-965c-560426676527.jpg?v=1681430553","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-name-of-the-nearest-alex-taylor-9781932511802","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}