In a recent interview, when asked how he saw the role of the writer, Saunders said "To me, the writer's main job is to make the story unscroll in such a way that the reader is snared -- she's right there, seeing things happen and caring about them. And if you dedicate yourself to this job, the meanings more or less take care of themselves." In Tenth of December, the reader is always right there, and the meanings are beautiful and profound and abundant....

This much-anticipated second collection of stories is signature Ted Chiang, full of revelatory ideas and deeply sympathetic characters. In "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate," a portal through time forces a fabric seller in ancient Baghdad to grapple with past mistakes and the temptation of second chances. In the epistolary "Exhalation," an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications not just for his own people, but for all of...

A wide-ranging debut collection from a writer whose musicality and humor shine through even when plumbing the darkest depths of space.

In Fun with Problems, Robert Stone demonstrates once again that he is "one of our greatest living writers" (Los Angeles Times). The pieces in this new volume vary greatly in length-some are almost novellas, others no more than a page-but all share the signature blend of longing, violence, black humor, sex, and drugs that has helped Stone illuminate the dark corners of the human soul. Entire lives are laid out with remarkable precision, in captivating...

In his stories, Saunders explores ideas of power, ethics, and justice, and cuts to the very heart of what it means to live in community with our fellow humans. Wickedly funny, unsentimental, and perfectly tuned, the stories challenge and surprise as they encompass joy and despair, oppression and revolution, bizarre fantasy and brutal reality. -- adapted from back cover "The 'best short story writer in English' (Time) is back with a masterful collection...

A collection of interwoven tales explores themes of family, sacrifice, war, and the redemptive power of art.

This "debut collection explores the ties that bind parents and children, husbands and wives, lovers and friends to one another and to the places they call home"--Amazon.com.

Abandoned as a baby in a bus station locker, shuttled from one abusive foster home and detention center to another, Bobbie Gotteson grew up angry, hurting, damaged. His hunger to succeed as a musician brought him across the country to Hollywood, but along with it came his seething rage, his paranoid delusions, and his capacity for acts of shocking violence. Unavailable for 40 years, The Triumph of the Spider Monkey is an eloquent, terrifying, heartbreaking...