Guess Again: Short Stories [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

Bernard Cooper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 9, 2000

From the O. Henry Prize and PEN/ Hemingway Award-winning author of "Truth Serum" and "Maps to Anywhere" comes a masterful, exquisitely crafted collection of short stories.

Bernard Cooper's fiction probes some of the most perplexing experiences of modern American life: the unpredictable nature of love, the riddle of sexuality, the intricacies of family relationships, and coping with loss in the age of AIDS. With his razor-sharp wit and unsparing honesty, Cooper peels back layers of the familiar, exposing the surprising truths that shape our lives.

In "Bit-O-Honey, " a middle-aged barber visits his estranged father on Halloween, disguised as a trick-or-treater; a young pregnant woman in "What to Name the Baby" negotiates life with her father and his elderly lover while traveling in a cramped Winnebago; and in "Hunters and Gatherers, " a Mormon couple orchestrates a misguided party game while hosting a dinner for the few homosexuals they know.

Whether Cooper is writing about a dying man's acts of vandalism, a divorce under house arrest, or a young boy's sexual awakening, his stories contain startling insight into the workings of the human heart. Resonant and often hilarious, the stories in "Guess Again" are unlike any you have read before.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This respected essayist's (Maps to Anywhere) fiction debut contains 11 exquisitely crafted stories, most previously published in such prestigious literary journals as Ploughshares, the Paris Review and the North American Review. Although many of the central characters are gay, the themes presented here are universal: love, loss, sexuality and aging parents, with the occasional specter of AIDS hovering on the periphery. Cooper handles all with compassion and bittersweet humor. In "Hunters and Gatherers," a Mormon husband and his wife attempt to reconcile his bisexuality with their faith by holding a bizarre dinner party for the few gay people they know. "What to Name the Baby" finds Laura, young and unmarried, unexpectedly giving birth while traveling in a cramped Winnebago with her father, Frank, and his gay lover. One year later, Frank keeps a promise to show the baby the redwoods, but "huddled in the midst of a green indifference," the baby is more interested in the loved ones gathered about her than the magnificent trees. In the opening story, "Night Sky," a man dying of AIDS visits his ex-wife, who is under house arrest for vandalizing her new ex-husband's property. At the end, they forgo their problems of the present for the larger picture: "But for now we lay back on a stranger's lawn, pointing to what we guessed were red dwarfs, stars formed long before the earth, their matter decaying so slowly it defies all measure of time." Cooper's love for his characters is evident in their self-deprecating humor and the poetic imagery of his writing. (Nov.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

An award-winning author (O. Henry Prize, PEN/Hemingway Award), Cooper presents us with a delightful collection of stories showcasing many of life's rites of passage. From first childhood crush, to burgeoning teen sexuality, to early twenties and beyond, this collection makes life's gains and losses starkly real. The theme of loss and/or betrayal by one's spouse is raised several times. In one, after the death of her husband, Libby discovers a detailed list of men in his papers. She then must face the loss of the man she thought she knew as well as the actual physical loss. In another, Ray deals with the mental deterioration of his partner, Cliff, long before Cliff dies, looking for the occasional glimpses of the man he fell in love with. While many of the stories are about loss, they are all about growth. A superior collection.DT.R. Salvadori, Margaret E. Heggan Free P.L., Hurffville, NJ
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (November 9, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684865866
• ISBN-13: 978-0684865867
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,234,031 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Remarkable Book!!!, December 5, 2000

By 

Joseph J. Hanssen "Joe" (Upstate New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Guess Again: Short Stories (Hardcover)

Words can't describe how much I enjoyed these 11 stories by Bernard Cooper. I have read all of his other wonderful books (Truth Serum, Maps to Anywhere, & A Year of Rhymes) but this is by far my favorite. This is an exquisite collection of short stories that are so full of passion & humanity. They can be sad and heart-breaking but also very funny all at the same time. In other words, these stories have so many different emotions in them that you can't help but be moved and enjoy them.

In "Hunters and Gatherers", a Mormon couple have a party game while hosting a dinner for a few gays that they know. This couple is odd, and what they make their guests do is really funny. I was so touched by "Exterior Decoration" a story that dealt with Ray & Cliff's relationship in the face of AIDS. The story was so heartbreaking yet it was so funny at the same time. Bernard Cooper has a way of bringing out all the emotions you could possible feel, but when you are done reading his stories, you won't feel unhappy, you'll feel very satisfied & fulfilled. I wish I could tell you all about "Old Birds", but I can't! Wait till you read this, it is so funny! When I read this story my parrot was sitting with me, and looking at me like I was crazy, because I was laughing out loud so hard. What a story!!

Guess Again is unlike any other book you have read before. It gets my highest recommendation. Make sure you read this great book!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fiction From A Master Memoir Writer, November 27, 2001

By 

disco75 "disco75" (State College, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guess Again: Short Stories (Hardcover)

The author of "Truth Serum," an astonishing memoir of childhood, presents here a collection of short fiction. The tone and voice in these stories are familiar from Cooper's earlier writing. He relates his tales in an introspective but not maudlin manner. Cooper can write about heartbreaking circumstances without self pity, pathos, or mockery. He takes an empathic stance toward all of his characters. The element of recall is ever present. Most of the stories relate an interesting circumstance and contain in the middle a reminiscence of an earlier time that is thematically connected to the present. In this sense, these short stories are similar to the memoirs Cooper has previously written.

Some of the stories have outrageously off-beat, humorous premises ("What To Name The Baby," "A Man In The Making," "Hunters and Gatherers"). They are rarely, however, written for out-loud laughs. Rather, they serve to explore human nature and emotional tenor. Cooper is particularly adept at delving into the warmth of romantic ties. His depictions of love relationships ("Exterior Decoration," "Old Birds," "Hunters and Gatherers") convey intimacy succinctly, clearly, and movingly.

The painfully raw, embarrassing awkwardness of budding adolescent sexuality is explored in "A Man In The Making." This story begins with a cryptic situation that unfolds into a cringe-inducing event that reveals so much about how alone young adults can be with their erotic impulses. The tenacity of personality, even in the face of deteriorating health, is demonstrated in the tender and clever "Exterior Decoration." Cooper's oft-visited theme of family ties sees endings and beginnings folding into and strenghening one another in "Old Birds." The varieties of domestic arrangements are considered in the highly amusing "What To Name The Baby." This collection of short pieces is a very fine book. If it is not as strong as "Truth Serum," it must be remembered that few books could be. Cooper is a writer whose work is becoming consistently rewarding and rich.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insights into the soul, March 5, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Guess Again: Short Stories (Hardcover)

I loved this collection. I picked it up because of the mysterious cover and then followed that impulse forward, reading Cooper's stories as they worked their investigative magic into the souls of his characters. There is something so valuable about work like this that it transcends the normal rhthym and demands of a work-a-day world. I felt both renewed and more in touch with what matters, with the way the world could look to us if we had the keen eye at work in the language of this writer. A deep deep joy here.