Juncture: 25 Very Good Stories and 12 Excellent Drawings [Paperback]

Lara Stapleton (Editor), Veronica Gonzalez (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 19, 2003

Ironic, rebellious, and sexy, this collection of short stories and illustrations reflects not only the jagged rhythms of contemporary American writing but also of American life itself with all its hyphenations, its immigrants, and its migrants. Juncture is an anthology of the Barthelmes, Pynchons, Ellisons, Coovers, and Ackers of today. Some of the contributing writers are absurdist, some stream-of-consciousness, some science fiction, and some based in rhythm with the influence of poetry. Original art and drawings illustrate or respond to each story and reflect the kinds of cultural hybridization that has driven many of these writers. The works of such vibrant writers and artists as Jonathan Lethem, Heather McGowan, Colson Whitehead, Alex Shakar, Carl Hancock Rux, Ben Marcus, Said Shirazi, Jorge Pardo, Chris Ofili, Frances Stark, and Jon Plypchuck aka Rudy Bust are included.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Soft Skull Press (December 19, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887128913
• ISBN-13: 978-1887128919
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,061,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lively stories - how odd for modern literature!, January 28, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Juncture: 25 Very Good Stories and 12 Excellent Drawings (Paperback)

It's possible to feel one is wandering in a cold, mathematical wasteland when reading stories by contemporary writers. How nice to find an anthology of stories that are engaging, provocative, and not completely self-absorbed. Ok, a couple of the writers in the book are self-absorbed, but there are stories by all sorts of other authors, some I'd heard of, some I hadn't, that made me laugh, worry, think about the world, and want to pass the book on. In a literary world where either sullen math or indulgent memoir (or a combination of the two) seems to rule, Juncture is a welcome oddity - you'll think about some of the stories for days and days afterwards and not be pissed off as I usually am.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Read, January 17, 2006

By 

Reader "trmjr" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Juncture: 25 Very Good Stories and 12 Excellent Drawings (Paperback)

Stapleton and Gonzales have done an excellent job crafting an anthology that is both eclectic and coherent; these stories feel like they belong together, and yet each story seems surprising and highly individual. I was eager to read ahead, to see what unexpected turn the collection would take next. The anthology as a whole feels vital and risky--these writers are nothing if not linguistic virtuosos, and like the jazz riffs and subversive dance beats on the CD that was cut to accompany this book, these stories pulse with immediacy, a sense of urgency that is all too often lacking in contemporary short fiction.