"In his quiet cosmic wonderment, Baxter is the equal of John Updike and Anne Tyler at their largest and best."—GQ
Without question Charles Baxter, whose ravishing novel The Feast of Love was a National Book Award finalist, is one of our finest contemporary writers. These two books, set in the Michigan landscape that Baxter has made his own, display his unparalleled gift for revealing the unexpected in everyday life. The often-curious connections of relatives and strangers are illuminated in the thirteen exquisite stories of A Relative Stranger. "You can't just get a brother off the street," a character says, but indeed he does.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Most of the protagonists in these 13 wonderfully varied, often funny stories set by Baxter ( Harmony of the World ) in Michigan are complex men reaching for answers that elude them. On the other hand their women, anchored in a simple and peaceful pragmatism, more wisely accept their mates' odd hungers and lunatic streaks. Stephen in "Lake Stephen" feels dissatisfied with Jan, his lover--she always seems to know in advance what he will do and say. When he importunes her to throw caution to the wind for once, she complies, but less than innocently: "Unless she broke the rules now," Jan realizes, "he would not follow the rules later." In "Westland" Warren turns in a teenage runaway and, as a result, is drawn with his family into the lives of strangers, much as Cooper in "Shelter" terrifies his wife and child with his quixotic gesture of inviting derelicts into their home. In Baxter's best and final story, "Saul and Patsy Are Pregnant," the characters from preceding stories come together, and their collective longing is resolved. Saul learns what the women have always known: happiness, if such a thing can exist, is love.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Everything old becomes new again in this collection of 13 short stories. Set in Michigan, Baxter's stories explore the various manifestations of love in human relationships: love that is lost, found, unrequited, and rediscovered; love in youth, middle, and old age. Whether we are reading about a social worker's chance encounter with a troubled teenager at the zoo, a happily married man's obsession with the secrets of the universe, a baker's attempt to assuage his guilt about the homeless, or a young Swede's disorienting introduction to Detroit, there is an element of familiarity in the tales. The author has written subtly but masterfully about the nuances of personal interaction in this insightful collection. Although his stories revolve around ordinary people and circumstances, the perspective is fresh and interesting. Through his character development, Baxter manages to give form to the doubts and fears we all share. --Kimberly G. Allen, National Assn. of Home Builders Lib., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Many of these brilliant, thoughtful stories are about people at unexpected moments of boiling over. Something is wrong in these characters' lives--a minister anchored in security who desperately needs his own sermon on fear; an adult ed. teacher questioning what he believes and teaches--their emotional well-being, as a whole, may not be in peril, but something is. And Baxter has the grace and patience to take us about as far as one could go into small yet poignant circumstances of recognizable characters. Baxter's prose is lilting yet potent: "He was ball-and-chained to his emotions. On some days the obsession weighed him down so heavily that he could not get out of bed to go to work without groaning and reaching for his hair, as if to drag himself up bodily for the working day." This passage from "Saul and Patsy are Pregnant" illustrates Baxter's gift for confusing the comic and tragic--should these be opposites, one thinks--after reading this stunning collection.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
My favorite story in this solid collection is "The Disappeared" -- a Swedish engineer comes to Detroit on business and tries to make sense of the world he finds himself in. It's one of the best stories I've read this decade, and a number of others in this collection rival it as well. (I liked this collection more than "Believers" and "Harmony of the World" -- but his essay collection Burning Down the House is great, too.) Baxter's not a flashy writer, but he's never simple -- more Edward Hopper than Norman Rockwell. Sample one story and you'll probably find the collection worth buying. These stories should last.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Why aren't more people reading Baxter? These wonderful stories are so moving they hold weight against writers like Cheever and Englander. Each is exquisitely wrought and powerful. A true master of craft...and (finally) suspense!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Used in Masters fo Fine Arts Grad Program
We used this collection of short stories as a text for a creative writing workshop. Baxter is an award winning, literary fiction author. Read more
Published on July 16, 2010 by S. Foster Jones
3.0 out of 5 stars
Dirty Realism Minus The Dirt
I think it was Raymond Carver who was touted as being one of the writers responsible for "reviving" the lost art of the short story. Read more
Published on January 28, 2008 by Mark Eremite
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tumultuous Fiction
I was assigned this book to read in a class called "Studies in 20th Century Literature." The theme of the course focused on short-story collections written in the last century. Read more
Published on February 2, 2005 by Paul M. Mallory
5.0 out of 5 stars
Alienation in the Upper Midwest
This is a wonderful book of stories. Fenstad skates on his way home from church because he is happy. Harry Fenstad writes brochures for a computer company. Read more
Published on November 28, 2003 by Mary E. Sibley
5.0 out of 5 stars
Comtemporary Topics for Comtemporary People
The author provides an excellent portrayal of ordinary people faced with frequently occurring dilemmas of comtemporary living. Each story is succinct and well-written. Read more
Published on December 1, 2000 by JEANNINE PETIT
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