Fitting Ends Pdf Summary
Fitting Ends is the first collection of fiction by the acclaimed author of the National Book Award finalist Among the Missing and now appears in this newly revised edition with two never before collected stories.
Written before Among the Missing and originally published by Northwestern University Press, Fitting Ends features thirteen stories detailing the almost panicked angst of the American generation now approaching thirty. Struggling with gaps between youthful expectations and adult experiences, these characters long for understanding and acceptance—but are thwarted by failed love, family disruptions, numbing work, and sexual confusion.
Chaon is one of the most promising new voices in fiction, and this re-issued collection offers further evidence of his unique talent.
“The best of these stories . . . possess a rare, disorienting force. When you look up from them, the quality of light seems a little different. It’s a reminder to those of us who have almost forgotten what literature can sometimes do.”
—Boston Book Review
“The most honest, observant and timely book written this year about the American generation now approaching thirty . . . Chaon speaks with clarity of feeling, and more than a little oddball wit, about the lives of those left behind the demographic curve of America—men and woman with pointless jobs, doughy faces, soured relationships, bad credit. . . . Each story pulls you into its subtle emotional vortex, largely because of Chaon’s knack for simple but poignant detail.”
—New York Newsday
“Remarkable . . . Each story is a marvel of complexity, dense with meaning and nuance. . . . Very few first works are as solid, moving, and pitch-perfect as Chaon’s.”
READ
- Slam Pdf Summary Reviews By Nick Hornby
- Fever Pitch Pdf Summary Reviews By Nick Hornby
- About a Boy Pdf Summary Reviews By Nick Hornby
- High Fidelity Pdf Summary Reviews By Nick Hornby
Fitting Ends Review
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Short Fiction
Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2009
Verified Purchase
In this varied collection of short stories Chaon proves he is a master of the medium. All the stories are highly readable, I never found myself skipping forward with some stories to see how many pages I had to the end. My enjoyment from this collection reminded me of reading the old Story magazine for those of you familiar with that magazine.
One curve ball for some readers might be the first story “My Sister’s Honeymoon: a videotape”, which of all the stories is the most atypical. Initially it seemed a bit episodic but give it a chance, the theme emerges slowly. Most of the stories revolve around small towns in Nebraska but they never seem repetitive. Over the course of the book the reader is introduced to a cast of widely divergent characters.
Some might find the stories a bit dark but I find a wry, sardonic aspect that is somehow satisfying and saves the writing from that uniform bleakness typical of writers affecting a post-modernist pose. The stories are about people who are in difficult circumstances but there is an honesty to Chaon’s writing that compensates for the melancholy mood. The last story “Fitting Ends” is probably the most potent of the collection but its moodiness is not gratuitous. It really gives you a lot to think about which ultimately is the reason I love Chaon’s writing.
At the end of the book there is an interview with Chaon which will be of interest to those wishing to know more about his motivations and methods.
5.0 out of 5 stars Quiet desperation in lonely places
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2016
A short story collection is a vital component of a good bedside bookstack, and “Fitting Ends” is one of the best. Dan Chaon (pronounced “Shawn”) is a master of the short form, but his special effects are best enjoyed periodically, not consecutively. Read Chaon for a dose of the creepiness of everyday life, a sense of the ghastly alternatives everyone strives to avoid, an understanding of how tragedy starts early and only gets worse. In 20 pages, he can conjure up worlds of hurt.
“Sure I Will” is about an odd couple, grandmother and grandson, who spend a summer together realizing that the correct answer to the boy’s question “You’ll be all right, won’t you, Gram?” is not actually “Sure I Will.” In “Presentiment” a couple bicker and go silent, flounder and fail to find relief, as they visit the institution where they have had to place their severely autistic son. “Accidents” reveals the thinking behind a teen’s crazy driving: maybe a really bloody crash would show his parents. “Rapid Transit” is the getaway vehicle for an office worker who is mugged, then mugs his boss, proving the Chaon rule that every unpleasant or tragic event is only the precursor to a worse one. The title story also has a tragic family dynamic: a walking-on-railroad-tracks suicide, a near-miss fall from the top of a grain elevator, lies on top of lies.
Don’t read Chaon if you’re looking for Hallmark storylines. Read him for the poetry of quiet desperation in lonely places.
About Dan Chaon Author Of Fitting Ends pdf Book
Dan Chaon is the Author Of Fitting Ends pdf Book, which was a finalist for the National Book Award and You Remind Me of Me, which was named one of the best books of the year by The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, The Christian Science Monitor, and Entertainment Weekly, among other publications. Chaon’s fiction has appeared in many journals and anthologies, including Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Prize, and The O. Henry Prize Stories. He has been a finalist for the National Magazine Award in Fiction, and he was the recipient of the 2006 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Chaon lives in Cleveland, Ohio, and teaches at Oberlin College, where he is the Pauline M. Delaney Professor of Creative Writing. His new novel, Await Your Reply, will be published in late August 2009.
Fitting Ends pdf, Paperback, Hardcover Book Information
- Publisher : Ballantine Books; First Edition, First Printing (April 1, 2003)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 272 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0345449096
- ISBN-13 : 978-0345449092
- Item Weight : 9.8 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.51 x 0.59 x 8.26 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,272,375 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #10,629 in Short Stories Anthologies
- #15,531 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction
- #19,433 in Short Stories (Books)
- Customer Reviews: 4.5 out of 5 stars 23 ratings
Get A Copy Of Fitting Ends pdf Or Paperback By Dan Chaon
You Can get A Copy Of Fitting Ends pdf Or Paperback By Dan Chaon from these online store links below.
