Bücher von Ron Carlson

Ron Carlson is a master of the contemporary short story. In The Blue Box, he extends that mastery to the short short story, offering us a captivating glimpse of a writer at play. With that voice of his-sharp, sensitive, and wry, brimming with good humor-Carlson inhabits one standby after another of the American pop landscape, past and present: monster flicks, action heroes, unsupervised teenagers, blogging. Coming in for special scrutiny is the world of education, in hilarious send-ups of recommendation letters, teacher evaluations, style guides, and a MOOC. Whimsical, wistful, and gently surreal, The Blue Box delights in life's unending absurdities, and reminds us not to take anything-especially ourselves-too seriously.

In the title story, a young man waiting in the Hotel Eden discovers-as others have-that Eden is not a permanent domicile. In "Zanduce at Second," a baseball player turned killer-by-accident undergoes a surprising transformation. We root for escaped felon Ray ("A Note on the Type") as he carves his name on a culvert wall. We drive the sweltering summer streets of Phoenix as a nineteen-year-old narrator goes through an unsettling sexual awakening ("Oxygen"). In these and other stories, whether his characters are getting sabotaged by nightcaps or encountering nudists on a rafting trip, Carlson takes us to new places in a new way.

Here are men and women in the middle--of life, of relationships. There is a difference between what they set out for and what they get. A single mother keeps house on an aircraft carrier. A new father finds himself seduced by a motorcycle. A lonely professor is forced to face a few truths. Braced by honesty and lifted by affection for the world, these stories are a stunning showcase for a writer tackling universal themes in new ways. Get ready: when Plan A breaks down, Ron Carlson is here.

Whether it is a husband trying to bring his marriage back together or Bigfoot finally coming forward, Carlson's characters speak with radical honesty that is disarming. They are the men and women all around us who open the refrigerator at two in the morning and see the faces of missing children on the milk carton. The world is a large dose sometimes, and they wonder whether they can measure up to its danger and its magic.

"These stories are full of surprises, jolts, and lightning strikes of recognition. Do yourself a favor and read Ron Carlson."-Stephen King

A collection of short stories: where strange beach towels turn up in a suburban living room; where the ordinary son of a family of geniuses spins a tale of happiness and disappointment; and where a desperate ex-con with a broken heart must hide out in a desert hotel, only to make a wild discovery.

"Ron Carlson's novel is in the coming-of-age tradition, with the contemporary attributes of humor and cool. . . . I liked Larry for his unpretentiousness, his wry, caring angle on experience." -New York Times

Collin Elder is running away from a "home" for wayward teenagers. Louisa Holz is escaping from her father, a carnival daredevil. Heading west from Arizona, they meet a third member of the novel's family-Will Clare, elderly and forgetful but full of rich memories.