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Title:
Bright shards of someplace else : stories / by Monica McFawn.
Author:
McFawn, Monica.
Publication Information:
Athens : The University of Georgia Press, [2014]
Call Number:
PS3613 .C4397 B75 2014
Abstract:
In the eleven kaleidoscopic stories that make up Bright Shards of Someplace Else, Monica McFawn traces the combustive, hilarious, and profound effects that occur when people misread the minds of others. The characters--an array of artists, scientists, songwriters, nannies, horse trainers, and poets--often try to pin down another's point of view, only to find that their own worldview is far from fixed. The characters in McFawn's stories long for and fear the encroachment of others. A young boy reduces his nanny's phone bill with a call, then convinces her he can solve her other problems. A man who works at a butterfly-release business becomes dangerously obsessed with solving a famous mathematical proof. A poetry professor finds himself entangled in the investigation of a murdered student. In the final story, an aging lyricist reconnects with a renowned singer to write an album in the Appalachian Mountains, only to be interrupted by the appearance of his drug-addicted son and a mythical story of recovery. By turns exuberant and philosophically adroit, Bright Shards of Someplace Else reminds us of both the limits of empathy and its absolute necessity. Our misreadings of others may be unavoidable, but they themselves can be things of beauty, charm, and connection.
ISBN:
9780820346878
Series:
Flannery O'Connor award for short fiction

Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction.
Physical Description:
viii, 164 pages ; 23 cm.
Contents:
Out Of The Mouths Of Babes -- Dead Horse Productions -- Key Phrases -- Elegantly, In The Least Number Of Steps -- A Country Woman -- Line Of Questioning -- Improvisation -- The Slide Turned On End -- Ornament And Crime -- Snippet And The Rainbow Bridge -- The Chautauqua Sessions.
Uniform Title:
Short stories. Selections
Personal Author:
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