Pretending the Bed is a Raft [Hardcover]

Nanci Kincaid (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 10, 1997

If Nanci Kincaid's trademark talent is for narrative voice, her trademark subject is the mating game. "Full of loving and lovelorn women whose affections run as fast, as deep--sometimes even as muddied--as the Mississippi."--Publishers Weekly, starred; "Eight exquisite examples of great short story writing . . . Kincaid's voice is strong, true, and clear, and there is a solid nugget of truth in each story. Highly recommended."--Library Journal; "The narrative voice in all the stories is sure and strong, bolstered by Kincaid's fresh insights and quirky humor."--Booklist; "Entertaining and occasionally dazzling . . . Good, gritty work from a vigorous talent. Kincaid may well blossom into one of the better storytellers around."--Kirkus Reviews.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This finely tuned collection of stories features steamy nights and women dressed up in alluring garb who are on the lookout for men who'll make their dreams come true. In folksy Southern dialog, Kincaid's (Crossing Blood, Putnam, 1992) characters reflect on life and love in eight exquisite examples of great short story writing. In "Won't Nobody Love You Like Your Daddy Does," Tammy's awkward foray into adulthood at age 14 comes from pretending that her neighbor is her husband as they slow-dance at the end of her baby-sitting evening. More awkward is her discovery that her "still good-looking mother" visits the same man while Dad is on the road. Kincaid's voice is strong, true and clear, and there is a solid nugget of truth in each story. Highly recommended.?Ann H. Fisher, Radford P.L., Va.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

An entertaining and occasionally dazzling first collection from Kincaid, the Florida-born author of the novel Crossing Blood (1992). With a single exception, these eight stories focus on girls or women who can't make sense out of their relationships with men or with their own addled and demanding emotions. And even that exception, ``Why Richard Can't,'' looks sympathetically at a middle-aged English professor's unwillingness to change or to leave the wife he's comfortable with for the woman student whose mind and body alike excite his interest. Too many of Kincaid's characters, in fact, talk away at us from conditions of frustrating stasis: the girl who can't make her inattentive, straying father notice her (in ``Pretty Please''), or the twice-married woman who knows she'll fail again if she takes the lover she's considering (in the smartly titled ``Total Recoil''). The good news is that Kincaid's women are expert nonstop talkers, vernacular virtuosi who can make you howl with a deftly placed one-liner (``I don't have anything against boys from reform school''), or sit bolt upright upon hearing a forthright woman's description of the guilt felt by an unfaithful husband (``like his penis was the arrow on a compass and he suddenly remembered it was always supposed to be pointing north''). And two of the stories are flat-out wonderful. ``Just Because They've Got Papers Doesn't Mean They Aren't Still Dogs'' traces with wry compassion the education in female solidarity and self- knowledge that expands the horizons and strengthens the character of a childless small-town football coach's wife. And the moving title piece portrays, without a shred of sentimentality, the sexual and intellectual awakening of a young wife and mother who learns she's dying of cancer, and scorns to go gently into anybody's good night. Good, gritty work from a vigorous talent. Kincaid may well blossom into one of the better storytellers around. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 252 pages
• Publisher: Algonquin Books; 1st edition (January 10, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565121775
• ISBN-13: 978-1565121775
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,373,336 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars KINCAID IS ONE OF THE BEST ----, July 18, 2008

By 

Pamela A. Poddany "Book Freak!" (Toledo, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Pretending the Bed is a Raft (Paperback)

PRETENDING THE BED IS A RAFT

For me not being a fan of short stories, I have been reading several volumes of them lately! And I have figured out WHY I tend to steer away from them -- this little book of great short stories is so good that they are over too quickly -- hence, SHORT stories! But I want them to go on and on and be a novel!

This is a good book -- eight short stories, all of them quick easy reads. Most of the characters are trashy people, down on their luck, cheating on their husbands/wives, having trouble with their kids, trying to help their neighbors, job problems; Ms. Kincaid touches on every little aspect of life. Southern lit is right up her alley and she does an excellent job capturing emotions, thoughts, and all the craziness life brings to all of us. The reader can really relate to the characters in most of these stories. Also, the names of these characters are great!

Ms. Kincaid is a wonderful author; she has many novels out there and I have read all of them. I put off reading this one as it was the last one that I had not read. However, good news! There will be a new one early next year. I can't wait.

Get all of her books, and just ENJOY! ALL of her books are too good to be missed.

Thank you!

Pam

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pretending the Bed is a Raft, August 16, 2005

By 

Lori A. Roussell "miss fost" (orlando, fl) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pretending the Bed is a Raft (Paperback)

I love this author. I'm from Florida, and she writes very charming stories that incorporate small town Florida. She is very easy to read. There are several short stories in this book that allow you to pick it up and read an entire story in less than half an hour. Great if you don't have a ton of time to invest in your reading.