Don't Make Me Stop Now: Stories [Paperback]

Michael Parker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 26, 2007

These eleven arresting, comic, and moving stories by acclaimed writer Michael Parker testify to the driving force of love, the lengths to which we’ll go to claim it and pursue it, the delusions we’ll float to keep it going, the torment that goes part and parcel with it. And despite all of the above, the absolute necessity of it, no matter its consequences.

Whether it’s a college student undone by the boy who leaves her, or the boyfriend intent on leveling old scores from high school for his lover, or the husband who discovers—in the grocery store—the woman he should have been with all along, every character, no matter how off track, wants to believe in debt and credit and payback and making the messy world—and the messy world of love—turn out neatly.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Love's unfortunate side effects dominate the majority of stories in Parker's latest (after If You Want Me to Stay), in which characters, haunted by romances past, are frequently driven to extremes. In "I Will Clean Your Attic," Laura, desperate for companionship after her husband leaves her, befriends handyman B.R. Bradshaw after a freak winter storm buries her Southern town in snow and ice. In "Muddy Water, Turn to Wine," college dropout James, who is just beginning to recover from a year-old breakup, takes waitress Erin on a road trip to her father's funeral the morning after their one-night stand. In "The Right to Remain," Sanderson is so devastated by the departure of his girlfriend that he burns his house down in a bid to win back her affection. Though most stories sympathetically treat emotionally wounded or stunted characters, "Hidden Meanings, Treatment of Time, Supreme Irony, and Life Experiences in the song 'Ain't Gonna Bump No More No Big Fat Woman' " is an unwieldy one-off in the form of a critical essay penned by a jilted woman. Parker's prose is pristine, but readers may tire of similarly suffering protagonists. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Diverse characters struggle with failed relationships, alcoholism, emotional abuse, and guilt and are propelled by beliefs of what they must do to achieve redemption. Parker's follow-up to If You Want Me to Stay (2005) is an engaging collection of stories, most of which explore the devastating nature of love. In the affecting "I Will Clean Your Attic," despondent southerner Laura discovers consolation from a source as unexpected as the blizzard that has her trapped in her house. In "Everything Was Paid For," a small-town drug dealer is fiercely intent on payback for his maligned lover. Reunited couples "wretched in love," a delusional husband falling back in love (though not with his wife), a love-starved college dropout--all are subjects in Parker's adept and subtly amusing tales. Accompanied by witty dialogue, the dozen stories are generally cohesive, although a parody of student writing, albeit funny, isn't as sympathetic as the rest. Readers may anticipate a recurrent conflict as the stories progress, but they will certainly savor the effortless narrative flow and compelling emotional tenor. Leah Strauss
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 276 pages
• Publisher: Algonquin Books (January 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565124855
• ISBN-13: 978-1565124851
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,160,613 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

MICHAEL PARKER is the author of five novels - Hello Down There, Towns Without Rivers, Virginia Lovers, If You Want Me To Stay, The Watery Part of the World and two collections of stories, The Geographical Cure and Don't Make Me Stop Now. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in various journals including Five Points, the Georgia Review, The Idaho Review, the Washington Post, the New York Times Magazine, Oxford American, Shenandoah, The Black Warrior Review, Trail Runner and Runner's World. He has received fellowships in fiction from the North Carolina Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as the Hobson Award for Arts and Letters, and the North Carolina Award for Literature. His work has been anthologized in the Pushcart, New Stories from the South and O. Henry Prize Stories anthologies. A graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill and the University of Virginia, he is a Professor in the MFA Writing Program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Visit his website at www.michaelfparker.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A diverse, strong collection, April 24, 2007

By 

A. Scott (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Don't Make Me Stop Now: Stories (Paperback)

Michael Parker writes prose the way a seasoned chef makes brunch: he uses the same ingredients and the same general recipes as everyone else, but the product always comes out as a surprise. For this reason alone you should pick up a copy of this strong collection. I nabbed an early copy, and 9 months later, many of these stories still resonate with me, popping back up at odd, quiet times.

Plus, his characters like the cheesy 70's rock you've tried to ignore all your life. Not only do they like that kind of music, but in one great story, a too-loud song from that era actually, ahem, kills a woman.

Algonquin puts out one beautiful book after another. Give this one a try.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Make Me Stop Reading Now, October 24, 2007

By 

Golda Fried "writer" (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Don't Make Me Stop Now: Stories (Paperback)

I'm teaching this collection of short stories at my community college and we're having a lot of fun. A lot of my students can't stand when the stories are open-ended because they really want to know what happens to these characters. But that means they care about the characters, right?

One student says, "The whole music thing did it for me"--Jonathan White. "Many of the stories have cool 70s point-of-reference songs. I like how the main character is composed in his thoughts but then he'll lash out at his father and stuff. But then there are many surprises for the reader and diabolical twists."

In "Couple Strikes it Rich," Jeff Kinzie says,"The main couple is not the one who gets rich; the older couple is the one who does which makes the story ironic. His girlfriend was real indecisive."

In "Hidden Meanings," Ian Griffith says, "I really like how he filled the whole thing with comedy and sarcasm. The whole time this student is writing the story she is complaining about the other students and that the teacher is probably not going to listen to her opinions anyway."

About the story 'The Right to Remain'," says Amanda Slaughter, "I appreciate the cold and tense internal battle Sanderson has with his wishful love life in an alcoholic haze."

Rebecca Turner says about "Muddy Water, Turned to Wine": "It was a very well-written story but a little morbid. The main character is this guy who's obviously getting over a relationship which ended very badly for him and he has a one night stand and the girl gets a call that her father has died and he offers to drive her to the funeral. He finds out that he's being used...."

Natalia Alston states about "The Golden Era of Heartbreak": "I liked the descriptions. I felt like I was there in the background watching. I like how he had heartbreak. The story was suspenseful because it had a Sopranos feeling."

Kim Woods states about "Everything Was Paid For": "I like how the main character tried to make everything right for his girlfriend. I did like the ending because there is poetic justice to the two guys. I also like how the main character was upset and trying to take care of his girlfriend and so was in touch with some of his emotions."

Shelly Shealy states about "Results for Novice Males": "I like the competitive nature of the main characters. These guys are out of control trying to do a triathalon in the middle of the night."

Overall, we as a class give it eighteen thumbs up.