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Praise for . . .
The News of the World: Stories
In these brief tales that immediately capture the reader with their vitality and sense of immediacy, Carlson (Betrayed by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Truants) attempts to preserve some illusions, to maintain that the simple rituals of life can and should provide pleasure and continuity . . .
It is a treat to read these simple but polished stories about the possibility of love.
--Publishers Weekly
I'm crazy about Ron Carlson's work -- it enters my bloodstream like penicillin, makes me healthy again. He's one of the few writers I know whose fiction sends me to my own typewriter, excited and inspired and wanting to return the gift. Bless you for publishing the man!
--Bob Shacochis, winner of the National Book Award for Easy in the Islands
There is in these stories a certain holiness bestowed on ordinary things, on ordinary lives, that is a powerful reminder of the late John Cheever.
--John Irving
Reading one Carlson story is like eating on M&M. You find yourself going back for a handful -- they make you laugh and think at the same time. Have a little sample ("Max" is only two pages) and see for yourself.
--Shannon Ravenel
The News of the World is a demonstration of how much a skilled writer with a little passion and compassion can fit into the smallest of spaces. Very strong stuff.
--Madison Smartt Bell, author of
The Stone That the Builder Refused
A brilliant collection of racy, expertly written stories about some of the most interesting and down-to-earth characters I've encountered in years. The News of the World is a perfect antidote to the dull spate of 'minimalist' short fiction that's been flooding the market.
--Howard Frank Mosher
A most original and talented writer. I'm very impressed with Ron Carlson.
--Bill Henderson
Ron Carlson brings us the world as it ever is -- loony with love, daunting to the animal in us, full of our fetching madnesses. Good people, these are urgent and notable stories. Buy this book, and read the only news fit to print.
--Lee K. Abbott
The News of the World
W.W. Norton 1987
Penguin paperback 1988
More reviews coming soon