Allegheny Front (Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.37 (543 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1941411258 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 192 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2016-10-17 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Set in the author's homeland of West Virginia, this panoramic collection of stories traces the people and animals who live in precarious balance in the mountains of Appalachia over a span of two hundred years, in a disappearing rural world. If anything ever happened in the state of West Virginia, Null knows the long and short of it, and will make its story sing."—Salvatore ScibonaMatthew Neill Null is the author of the novel Honey from the Lion (Lookout Books). He divides his time between West Virginia and Provincetown, Massachusetts, where he coordinates the writing fellowship at the Fine Arts Work Center.. It remains at a distance from judgment, at a remove from easy definitions, unspooling a lucid and often painful history of appetite, exploitation, and bereavement."—Lydia Millet, from the introduction"Rich in history, speech, incident, flora, fauna, vernacular, geology, politics—Matthew Neill Null's work is dazzling. Men's stubbornness is a rock face, in these intelligent and unpretentious stories, their anger a crown fire, their occasional tenderness a rill. A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, winner of the PEN/O. With omniscient narration, rich detail, and lyrical prose, Matthew Neill Null brings his landscape and characters vividly to life."Allegheny Front has
Null keeps us guessing as to where his sympathies lie Beth Null keeps us guessing as to where his sympathies liewith the animals? With the mountain people who seek to exploit nature, sometimes thoughtlessly and ruthlessly? With the hunters and the fisherman? With the hunted and the fish? Perhaps part of his gift as a writer is to convey the complexity of these issues. A hero and a victim can sometimes be the same person.. Amazon Customer said the story lines are varied to different degrees of success……I really liked the story lines are varied to different degrees of success……I really liked 3, found the others so-so Being from WV, I had to pick this up when I first saw it. The stories are similar in that the characters embody some typical WV types; the story lines are varied to different degrees of success……I really liked 3, found the others so-so, and thought one was too predictable to keep your interest. Null is obviously talented and has an acute eye for the natural elements and animals (more so than the humans he throws into that environment.) His strength NOW…as a writer…is in that captured description of the environs and its h. , found the others so-so. Being from WV, I had to pick this up when I first saw it. The stories are similar in that the characters embody some typical WV types; the story lines are varied to different degrees of success……I really liked the story lines are varied to different degrees of success……I really liked 3, found the others so-so Being from WV, I had to pick this up when I first saw it. The stories are similar in that the characters embody some typical WV types; the story lines are varied to different degrees of success……I really liked 3, found the others so-so, and thought one was too predictable to keep your interest. Null is obviously talented and has an acute eye for the natural elements and animals (more so than the humans he throws into that environment.) His strength NOW…as a writer…is in that captured description of the environs and its h. , found the others so-so, and thought one was too predictable to keep your interest. Null is obviously talented and has an acute eye for the natural elements and animals (more so than the humans he throws into that environment.) His strength NOW…as a writer…is in that captured description of the environs and its h. Amazon Customer said Five Stars. Excellent. Truly Literary.
This collection is hard, deep, and true as the mountains' darkest hollows, as Null sweeps through moments in the last century, making each feel as urgent as your foot caught in the rocks and your body pulled under swirling white water rapids."Chris Lee, Bookseller, Boswell Book Company, Milwaukee, WIMatthew Neill Null’s stories are exquisite and haunting. A "Best Book of Summer 2016," Publishers WeeklyA "Most Anticipated Book of 2016," The Millions and The Masters Review"Ten Titles to Pick Up Now," O, The Oprah Magazine"Tender and elegant. In this beautiful and finely crafted collection we come to see how, in the Appalachia of both past and present, the inevitability of change may be the only constant."Oxford American"West Virginia author Matthew Neill Null brings the richness of his mountain heritage to each page.Null understan