The Man, The Myth, The Legend

The Man, The Myth, The Legend
Author: Chris Orcutt
Publisher: Have Pen, Will Travel
Total Pages: 163
Release: 2013-07-08
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 099627832X

"Chris Orcutt serves up a deliciously cheeky and ironic collection of short stories that offer glimpses into the perilous lives of ten men from vastly different walks of life and eras."* An IndieReader Best Book of 2013. From the emotionally poignant to the outrageously humorous, this varied collection of stories dramatizes the lives of a wide range of fascinating men including The Last Great White Hunter... learns that on the African savanna, the most dangerous predator is Woman. The Bootlegger... goes to extraordinary lengths to provide for his family during the Great Depression. The Speechwriter... contends with something all men have since the beginning of time--gut-wrenching temptation. The Dogcatcher... earns his living finding the lost dogs of uber-wealthy clients. The Civil War General... reveals the pitiful but hilarious depths of his own self-deception. Brimming with action-adventure, ample humor, and clean, picturesque writing, The Man, The Myth, The Legend combines the compelling narrative drive of great movies ("What happens next?") with the gemlike beauty of the short story form. Readers Say: "Chris Orcutt's writing is a surprise at every turn of the page. The writing is impeccable and filled with underlying humor and wit." "I would recommend The Man, The Myth, The Legend to anyone who enjoys suspense, romance, intrigue and humor. So, pretty much anyone." "Orcutt's glib use of language and deft ability to switch into multifarious voices and writing styles captures the nuances of time, setting and mentality of each protagonist...making each story unique, engaging and insightful." "I absolutely loved this collection of short stories. Each story is unique and has a different feel to it. I personally loved the story 'Seven Whole Grains on a Mission.' It's just incredibly clever and made me laugh out loud through the entire thing." "Again, I was thoroughly engaged in Chris's beautiful use of our language." "Let this book take you away from the ordinary and whisk you away to other worlds of interesting lives. You'll find yourself engrossed in every chapter, thinking about the stories you've read days later." "This book is like a mahogany box of sample liquors and cigar on the side, each bottle providing a new flavor and a memorable aftertaste." --- "Author Chris Orcutt serves up a deliciously cheeky and ironic collection of short stories that offer glimpses into the perilous lives of ten men from vastly different walks of life and eras. Whether it is a hunter in Africa, or a feisty General of a Civil War-era army, a gentlemanly writer, a senior road engineer, dogcatcher, or an artist daring to live outside New England, Orcutt highlights the tongue-in-cheek intrigue, danger and adventure in each man's life. Orcutt's fresh, lively descriptions preserve the irony of the stories, as with the description of Nick Carraway's 'mean little bungalow that quaked in the shadow of Gatsby's mansion like a tick beneath a Burmese elephant....' Orcutt's glib use of language and deft ability to switch into multifarious voices and writing styles captures the nuances of time, setting and mentality of each protagonist...making each story unique, engaging and insightful. The Man, The Myth, The Legend is a stimulating and entertaining collection of stories about the adventure in every man's life, work and passion. (5 stars; IR approved)" —IndieReader

American Masculine

American Masculine
Author: Shann Ray
Publisher: Graywolf Press
Total Pages: 189
Release: 2011-06-21
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 155597032X

Winner of the 2010 Bakeless Prize for Fiction, a muscular debut that reconfigures the American West The American West has long been a place where myth and legend have flourished. Where men stood tall and lived rough. But that West is no more. In its place Shann Ray finds washedup basketball players, businessmen hiding addictions, and women fighting the inexplicable violence that wells up in these men. A son struggles to accept his father's apologies after surviving a childhood of beatings. Two men seek empty basketball hoops on a snowy night, hoping to relive past glory. A bull rider skips town and rides herd on an unruly mob of passengers as he searches for a thief on a train threading through Montana's Rocky Mountains. In these stories, Ray grapples with the terrible hurt we inflict on those we love, and finds that reconciliation, if far off, is at least possible. The debut of a writer who is out to redefine the contours of the American West, American Masculine is a deeply felt and fiercely written ode to the country we left behind.

Dogs of War: Legacy

Dogs of War: Legacy
Author: Matt McCain
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
Total Pages: 345
Release: 2018-08-17
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1984546171

It all ends here. After three years of retirement, Ray Gagnon and the rest of his black ops team, the Dogs of War, have finally found peace and the promise of a bright future. But when teammates across the board are targeted and secrets of the past are exposed, it becomes clear than an old adversary once thought dead has returned with a vengeance. Knowing their lives and the fate of the country is at stake, Ray and his teammates know they must suit up one last time to confront an enemy who knows no boundaries. In the final chapter of the Dogs of War trilogy, bonds are tested, loyalty will be shattered, and lives will be lost as the battle for their legacy begins.

The Strange Death of Alex Raymond

The Strange Death of Alex Raymond
Author: Dave Sim
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2021-08-17
Genre:
ISBN: 9781736860502

"The story traces the lives and techniques of Alex Raymond (Flash Gordon, RipKirby), Stan Drake (Juliet Jones), Hal Foster (Prince Valiant), and more, dissecting their techniques through recreations of their artwork,and highlighting the metatextual resonances that bind them together"--Page 4 of cove

The Myth of Sisyphus And Other Essays

The Myth of Sisyphus And Other Essays
Author: Albert Camus
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2012-10-31
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 0307827828

One of the most influential works of this century, The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays is a crucial exposition of existentialist thought. Influenced by works such as Don Juan and the novels of Kafka, these essays begin with a meditation on suicide; the question of living or not living in a universe devoid of order or meaning. With lyric eloquence, Albert Camus brilliantly posits a way out of despair, reaffirming the value of personal existence, and the possibility of life lived with dignity and authenticity.

Hicks, Tribes, and Dirty Realists

Hicks, Tribes, and Dirty Realists
Author: Robert Rebein
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2014-07-11
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0813149975

Robert Rebein argues that much literary fiction of the 1980s and 90s represents a triumphant, if tortured, return to questions about place and the individual that inspired the works of Hawthorne, Melville, Twain, Faulkner, and other giants of American literature. Concentrating on the realist bent and regional orientation in contemporary fiction, he discusses in detail the various names by which this fiction has been described, including literary postmodernism, minimalism, Hick Chic, Dirty Realism, ecofeminism, and more. Rebein's clearly written, nuanced interpretations of works by Raymond Carver, Cormac McCarthy, Don DeLillo, Louise Erdrich, Dorothy Allison, Barbara Kingsolver, E. Annie Proulx, Chris Offut, and others, will appeal to a wide range of readers.

The Pride

The Pride
Author: Wallace Ford
Publisher: Kensington Books
Total Pages: 480
Release: 2011-02-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0758268572

Wallace Ford explodes onto the fiction scene with a rare and revealing glimpse into the world of New Yorks African-American elite. . . When Sture Jorgenson migrated from Norway to New York, he knew he was coming to the city of eight million stories--but he had no idea what fate had in store for him. His rise from dishwasher at the Water Club to part-owner of a hotspot restaurant named for tragic legend Dorothy Dandridge has him rubbing elbows with many powerful people, but when Sture gains entrée into "The Pride," he becomes part of that coterie of New Yorks most accomplished black men and women, the lions and lionesses whose lives intersect on Wall Street, in Harlem, in the Hamptons, and on Park Avenue. . . Despite the haunting deaths of those closest to him, Paul Taylor has charged ahead, driven by ambition, demons--and dreams for his beloved baby son. A lawyer, businessman, patron of the Water Club, part-owner of Dorothys restaurant, and charter member of The Pride, Paul is living the good life, complete with luxurious Harlem townhouse, fine wine, and fine women. Of course, even the good life has its complications. . . Beautiful, elegant, and gifted with rapier-sharp wit, Diedre Douglas is Pauls ex-wife, and a financial success in her own right. She has turned her close encounter with the glass ceiling into a thriving business enterprise. But for a woman at the top, there are always new challenges. . . Gordon Perkins is Wall Streets top black investment banker, a man whose brilliance and drive are exceeded only by his insatiable appetite for domination, control, and cruelty. His wife, Kenitra, is one of many who have suffered at Gordons hands. Those who get close to him get hurt--with one notable exception. . . From the glitz and the glamour to the power struggles, private dramas--and the surprising color lines drawn even at the highest levels of society--here is an intriguing portrait of a phenomenal city, its fascinating people, and their secrets.

A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag

A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag
Author: Gordon Korman
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Total Pages: 213
Release: 2013-07-30
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0545632579

When luckless Raymond Jardine becomes Sean Delancey's eleventh-grade-English project partner, he persuades Sean's grandfather to pose as a long-deceased, obscure Canadian poet, in an effort to pass the course and win a vacation to a luxurious Greek island.