These 15 stories by the author of Picturing Will garnered universal critical acclaim upon their first publication; today they seem even more powerful, and are read and studied as classics of the short story form. Spare and elegant, yet charged with feeling, they are masterly portraits of improvised lives.
These fifteen stories by Ann Beattie garnered universal critical acclaim on their first publication, earning Beattie the reputation as the most celebrated new voice in American fiction. Today these stories -- "A Vintage Thunderbird;" "The Lawn Party, " " La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans," to name a few -- seem even more powerful, and are read and studied as classics of the short-story form. Spare and elegant, yet charged with feeling and with the tension of things their characters cannot say, they are masterly portraits of improvised lives.