Customer Reviews

A Patrimony of Fishes: Stories

5 star:		(4)
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"A brilliant first collection of short stories by author Doug Lawson, A Patrimony of Fishes fuses Raymond Carver, Flannery O'Connor and the X-Files into a spicy soup of intelligent American writing. Lawson's prose is both sparkling and patient, pausing to unfold the intricacies of his characters before exploding into a car chase. His themes are basic and mature: hope, lost youth, betrayal. Yet, they bubble up through characters whose obsessions and passions fill the landscape.

"Readers will savor every page, and hope that A Patrimony of Fishes is just the first fresh catch of many to come from this fine writer."

from The Virginia Quarterly Review

This is a fantastic story collection. I recommend starting with the heartbreaking story "Elephants" and then, as an antidote, reading "The Particular Lechery of Jacob," which unfolds in a beautiful and surprising way. But all the stories are good. Like, upsettingly good, where you go, wow, that guy is good.

Enjoyed it--I read the story "After Kimberly" in Glimmer Train Stories, went right out and bought the book. It's a great first collection; a book of rare insight and telling description.

This book was great. I came across it in my local bookstore, and was amazed at the depth and the perceptions within these stories. Anyone interested in original, innovative, non-formulaic (but not post-modern gibberish!) stories about people with hearts should read this book; as an avid reader I'm really surprised this book hasn't gotten more attention. Buy it!