"When masters of the modern short story are discussed, please, my friends, leave room for this young genius, Steve Stern. He has nerve, wit, fascinating rhythms, and marvelous vision."—Barry Hannah
"Steve Stern is far and away the greatest of our unrecognized writers. He is a literary artist of greater power than that of all but a handful of our recognized writers."—Gordon Lish
"A startling collection of stories by a prodigiously talented writer."—New York Times Book Review
Description
All of Steve Stern’s effervescent stories in this collection have a common relationship, either by setting or allusion, to the whimsically dangerous North Main Street neighborhood of Pinch—a mythical Jewish area perched atop the river bluff in Memphis. Here the voice of the Lord rises up from gas burners and out of pay phones. Here aging fathers-in-law live in backyard sheds and negotiate with the Angel of Death. Here is a land in which a host of very different characters share a common tendency to ignore the usually agreed-upon bonds of reality And in their rollicking wisdom all will confirm Susan Sontag’s earlier inventory of Mr. Stem’s talents: “Great brio, whiplash sentences, lots of energy, and charm.”
About the Author
Steve Stern is the author of critically acclaimed books such as Isaac and the Undertaker's Daughter and winner of the National Jewish Book Award, The Wedding Jester. Stern currently lives in Balston Spa, New York, and teaches at Skidmore College.
October 1995