Big Picture [Paperback]

Percival Everett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1996

short stories

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

From the author of Zulus, Watershed, and For Her Dark Skin comes Big Picture, a volume of short stories that deals with the quiet, almost unmarked instant where an off-the-cuff comment or a chance encounter alters lives in ways no one could have predicted. Typical is the pair of old friends whose relationship is transformed by the disappearance of a set of false teeth. Percival Everett's style is low-key and unassuming. It is not the flash of lightening, the peel of thunder, and the sudden downpour that swamps the lives of his characters that concerns him. Rather, it is the slow drip of time that finally wears a new path in landscape of their existence.

From Publishers Weekly

Rodeo riders and sensitive artistes pepper these disparate stories, some of which sing while others creak. Author of Zulus and God's Country, Everett is at his best when he reaches beyond the protagonist's self-study and gives other characters stage time. His strengths coalesce wonderfully in "Wolf at the Door." Here, the writer's descriptive acuity and storytelling panache have a real plot to hang on, and he captures the complexity of emotions when a father pressures his son to shoot a wolf the boy admires: "Hiram raised the Weatherby and lined up a shot. The wolf didn't move, his eyes were as unyielding as his father's. He squeezed off the round and watched as the startled animal had only enough time to change the expression in his eyes. The wolf looked at Hiram and asked why, then fell over dead.... Hiram turned to his still-smiling father and said, 'I hate you.'" This memory preys on the grown up Hiram, now a country vet who faces a similar situation when the locals needlessly stalk a mountain lion. This story is so captivating it's hard to believe the same writer could product a piece as dismal as "Cerulean." This, the collection's weak start, depicts a painter who does a lot of yogurt-eating and smug introspection about the creative process ("What's your relationship with the color blue?'). The two-dimensional girlfriend character seems to exist only to resuscitate the precious artist. Lines such as "I think I try to find spirits when I work" or "There's a lot of power in your work" typify the sort of thinly disguised self-praise permeating "Cerulean." Although this story caves in on itself, others steer clear of abstract self-preoccupation and make for good reading.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 156 pages
• Publisher: Graywolf Press; First Edition edition (March 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555972381
• ISBN-13: 978-1555972387
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,589,472 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars big picture, April 20, 2000

By 

Ehren Schimmel (Wakefield, Rhode Island) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Picture (Paperback)

These stories are wonderfully rich and dynamic. Everett blends well the elements of a simple, rural lifestyle with complex characters; characters that struggle to find their place in the "big picture". The result is an intense, sometimes dark, but always satisfying read, and there is a unity not always found in a collection of short stories. Read it.