Revenge of Lawn [Paperback]

Richard brautigan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 3, 1978

A collection of 62 very short stories set in 1960s California, particularly around the author's home town of San Francisco. Richard Brautigan is the author of "Willard and His Bowling Trophies", "Trout Fishing in America", "In Watermelon Sugar" and "A Confederate General From Big Sur".

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Pocket (January 3, 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671821431
• ISBN-13: 978-0671821432
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,413,645 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A long overlooked literary treasure, June 29, 2001

By A Customer

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This review is from: Revenge of the Lawn (Hardcover)

There is (was) no one quite like Richard Brautigan. I've been reading his stuff for more than 25 years and his writing never fails to make me smile or take me to new emotional depths. This classic collection of Brautigan short stories is the master at the height of his creative powers. What a range of creativity on display, from the pathos of "The World War I Los Angeles Airplane" (Winner of the 1969 Best Short Story of the Year) to the whimsical "1/3. 1/3, 1/3".

I used to be a teacher. When my students stumbled into my office, all depressed and angst-ridden, I always sent them home with a Brautigan. They never failed to come back with a smile and deep appreciation.

Richard Brautigan was a complicated man, pursued by demons he could never control. We lost him far too early in life, but thankfully, we have books like "Revenge of the Lawn" to read and treasure over and over again.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As beautiful as a lover's smile, February 21, 2003

By 

W. G. Hardy "gaz_23" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Revenge of the Lawn: Stories 1962-1970 (A Rebel Inc. Classic) (Paperback)

A friend introduced me to the works of Brautigan quite recently. I hadn't heard of him before, to my shame.
I wasn't sure what to expect. I was surprised, pleasantly. It's not something that I'd have picked up on a whim. It's not something that I'd have thought that I'd enjoy. I was wrong.

Some of the stories in this collection are achingly beautiful. Some are very short, but evoke a level of emotion that I'd not have thought possible. The brevity and the intensity of his use of language is astonishing.

This is a volume I think that I'll eventually read again and again. I've nothing else in my extensive collection that has the ability to make me laugh one moment, and have me on the verge of tears the next. How could I recommend this more highly ??

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Angry chickens by the old pond, October 12, 2004

By 

Robert S. Newman "Bob Newman" (Marblehead, Massachusetts USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Revenge of Lawn (Paperback)

When I was a kid growing up in a small town north of Boston, I used to take care of a neighbor's chickens. It was only when the family went to the Cape for vacations. I had to let the chickens out of their coop in the morning. They always seemed glad to see daylight. Though they were hungry, they never got used to me. They'd run around clucking and squawking, wishing I'd disappear and leave them to their chicken business. When I threw food on the ground, they really got wild. They'd run around like crazy. I had to collect the eggs, take them up onto the neighbors' back porch and put them in a basket. The chicken coop stood just before a patch of weeds and brush by a old pond where turtles lived and I could catch tadpoles. I grew up. Then it was the Sixties and I started to read Richard Brautigan. I loved that guy's writing. And you know ? I still love it. He must be one of America's great twentieth century writers, but forgotten. I haven't forgotten him. He's all around, just like chicken. Maybe writing today is more like supermarket frozen chicken, but Brautigan has that feeling of early summer mornings when you hadn't been spoiled by too much living. His work is poignant, funny, sad, and beautiful. You can fill in your own adjectives if you read books like REVENGE OF THE LAWN. I strongly recommend that you do. A lot of his stories are pieces of genius. Describing them only destroys them. You have to read them, each a little haiku of its own. A haiku on a hundred bucks a month. Having a lot of money isn't everything. Just take a good look at life. Chickens are as good a place to start as anywhere. Brautigan killed himself and that was the world's loss. I still miss having more Brautigan stories. I've read them all several times.