Books

“A vivid, often funny story collection that examines serious topics like race, war, history, and self-identity—all with a deft hand and a fluid, musical voice.”

“Brash, daring and defiantly original… [these] stories are bound to stay with readers for a very long time.”

“The author of the National Book Award-winning novel The Good Lord Bird possesses a biting wit, but disarms it with his calm, plainspoken style… A consummate entertainer, McBride has the comic energy and antic spirit of Richard Pryor.”

“If there’s a mode in which McBride can’t write brilliantly, he has yet to prove it.”

“The characters are disparate, but McBride is such an agile writer that each voice feels authentic and somehow familiar. Taken together the stories speak, if not directly to one another, to a greater humanity and wisdom we all desire… These are stories of and from the soul.”

“Insanely fantastically smart, poignant, and funny (when called for) short stories. James McBride has considerable range as a storyteller and this collection of stories proves that point.”

“McBride proves once again that he is a master conjurer of African Americana with his new book of charmed, imaginative short stories… [He] lets his sense of whimsy run wild in this collection… the results once again are funny, strange and touching.”

“The short stories in this collection from National Book Award winner James McBride (The Good Lord Bird) range widely, from the Civil War to the Vietnam War and from the animal world to a toy train set, but all are poignant, imaginative, and ‘literary’ in the best sense of the word.”

“McBride is one of this country’s best writers, and that has never been more apparent than here, in his first short story collection… McBride’s writing practically shimmers with energy and charm, making reading him a singular pleasure.”

“Hilarious, charming, and unlike anything else you’ll read this year, these stories show more about the human psyche than one could possibly imagine.”

“Humming with invention and energy, the stories collected in McBride’s first fiction book since his National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird again affirm his storytelling gifts… McBride adopts a variety of dictions without losing his own distinctly supple, musical voice; as identities shift, ‘truths’ are challenged, and justice is done or, more often, subverted.”

“Each told with McBride’s trademark insight, eye for character, and masterful story-telling ability, these pieces are sure to knock you out.”

“Stellar… McBride’s short stories joyfully abound with indelible characters whose personal philosophies are far wiser than their circumstances allow… [He] brings the snappy satire that endeared him to fans of the National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird and the courage and pathos that shone in The Miracle at St. Anna.”

“An exceptional group of stories… There’s a good amount of humor here, but most of these pieces are deeply emotional. This is McBride at his A-list best.”

“McBride exhibits his formidable storytelling chops in an array of voices and settings… The charm emitted by these whimsical-yet-acerbic tales seems to come from a hypothetical late-19th-century collaboration of Mark Twain and Rudyard Kipling. McBride emerges here as a master of what some might call  ‘wisdom fiction,’ common to both The Twilight Zone and Bernard Malamud, offering instruction and moral edification to his readers without providing an Aesop-like moral.”

“The stories are diverse enough in style, theme and milieu to keep one’s head thoroughly engaged… Serious fun.”