Human Resources: Stories (Tin House New Voice) [Paperback]

Josh Goldfaden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 7, 2007 | Series: Tin House New Voice

Humorous, energetic, and inventive, the stories in Josh Goldfaden’s debut collection are laugh-out-loud funny. Goldfaden’s genius is pushing the limits of absurdity without sacrificing the emotional core of his characters or their stories. A nanny works for a traveling writers colony (his charge is named Camus). A pirate saves up for his own restaurant. A litter specialist tackles the overstuffed homes — and psyches — of the rich. As zany as they come, Goldfaden’s characters seek purpose and community and, every now and again, they find it.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. The seven far-out stories in Goldfaden's impressive debut explore the absurd without giving in to it. The first story, "The Veronese Circle," encapsulates a four-week group tour from Verona to Istanbul (and back) by six young writers who paid thousands of dollars to be guided by a Romeo and Juliet-quoting professor and his wife. "Documentary" imagines how a young filmmaker, Samantha, will mature emotionally (and what may come of her relationship with her rising star painter boyfriend) while filming hours and hours of women giving birth. "Looking at Animals" delves into the inner life of another kind of documentary photographer: after 30 years of photographing wild animals around the globe for National Geographic, Raymond retires and begins an acute interest in the goings-on of his neighbors. Admirably, Goldfaden roams widely and erratically, from surfers living on an exclusive beachfront ("Maryville, California, Pop. 7") to a bizarre set of contemporary pirates who give up robbing yachts to join a pirate-busting agency ("Nautical Intervention"). Goldfaden is an undeniable talent. (Apr.)
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Review

"Using language as kinetic and inventive as his playful yet pointed plots, Goldfaden is sure to delight readers eager to embark on a refreshingly original literary adventure."—ELLE

"Here is a talented writer at the bright edge of his career.”
—Ron Carlson, author of A Kind of Flying and Five Skies

"Swift, surprising, funny, and in the end unexpectedly moving. I was sorry to see this book end.”
—Kevin Canty, author of Winslow in Love , and Into the Great Wide Open

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 225 pages
• Publisher: Tin House Books (March 7, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977698912
• ISBN-13: 978-0977698912
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,334,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Josh Goldfaden's short stories have appeared in Meridian, Mid-American Review, New England Review, Salmagundi, the Sewanee Review, Washington Square, ZYZZYVA, and others. His first book, a short story collection, Human Resources, was published by Tin House Books in April 2007. It was shortlisted for the 2007 Story Prize, and awarded the 2008 Devil's Kitchen Prose Award.

Currently at work on a novel, he operates the website design/management company WebAha! with his wife, the poet Jennifer Chapis. He lives in Oceanside, California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best new short story writer in years, May 12, 2007

By 

Ellen D. Kane "EllenRanch" (Rancho Santa Fe, Ca) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Human Resources: Stories (Tin House New Voice) (Paperback)

I'm not your typical short story fan, but got a tip from a friend that one of these "Nautical Intervention", had been optioned for a movie by someone she knew so I took a read. I couldn't believe this was a first book. The stories and the construction pulled me in and I read every story and each was more delicious than the last. No formulaic first time writer stuff here. Each stands alone and left me with the satisfied feeling that I usually don't get from short stories, which is why I usually avoid them. Hate that contrived "left hanging" feeling.

Can't wait to see what else this young writer has to offer.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great characters !, September 21, 2007

By 

D. Luening (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Human Resources: Stories (Tin House New Voice) (Paperback)

Human Resources is populated with some of the most memorable and offbeat characters I've encountered in a long time, dealing with some rather unusual issues. In my personal favorite story, King of the Ferns, the author looks into the minds of a husband, wife, dog...and the household fern ...with darkly humorous result. The stories offer something for everyone, whether you're thinking about changing your career to professional pirate, or wondering who to call on to help a dear aunt with a clutter problem. Well done.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book of Short Stories I've Read in a Long Time!, July 24, 2007

By 

Michael Phillips (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Human Resources: Stories (Tin House New Voice) (Paperback)

I read a lot of short stories, from Raymond Carver to George Saunders, from TC Boyle to Lorrie Moore from Haruki Murakami to the Best American Short Stories anthology. This book, Human Resources, by Josh Goldfaden is simply one of the most consistently great, hilarious, and moving books I've read in years.

One of the things I don't like about many short story collections is that it seems like there are 2 or 3 great stories in the book followed by a bunch of duds. With Josh Goldfaden's book, every story in the collection was strong, unique and complex. I certainly have my favorites among this book, however every story in Human Resources had me laughing out loud, and a few of them even had me...gasp... tearing up a bit.

What I like best about these stories is the way each of them seems to totally encompass it's own unique world. Yes, it's our world, but it's a slightly skewed and more interesting version of our world. So we're introduced to a traveling writers colony in Europe, are shown the lives of modern pirates, of phone psychics, of national Geographic photographers, of litter removal specialists, and of a woman making a documentary film about childbirth. I feel like each of these stories could have been a novel, such is the richness of the worlds they inhabit.

I know I'm going on and on, but I can't recommend this book enough. Another thing I loved about Human Resources was that so many short story writers seem to choose these completely ambiguous endings, where you have no idea what actually happens at the end. I have no problem with subtly, and I don't like when stories try to wrap up every aspect of the story, but I often think that short story writers cop-out of doing the work necessary to get a great ending, and simply end the story ambiguously. Goldfaden's stories feel whole in a way you don't see often. It's not that everything is too neatly tied up, it's just that each story accrues emotional weight as it goes on and the ending serves to increase that weight, and to leave the reader fulfilled.

Anyway, if you're looking for a hilarious book of short stories which seems to perfectly straddle the line between being funny and being emotionally resonant, you can't go wrong with Human Resources.