The Book of Right and Wrong (Ohio State Univ Prize in Short Fiction) [Paperback]

Matt Debenham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 22, 2010 | Series: Ohio State Univ Prize in Short Fiction

Matt Debenham’s stories are for people who think they don’t like short stories. These stories don’t leave off in mid-breath; instead, they feature characters who seem to live on even after their closing pages. The humor in The Book of Right and Wrong makes the jarring moments that much more jarring, and the tender moments that much more tender.
At once heartbreaking and hilarious, the eleven stories in The Book of Right and Wrong capture their characters at the defining moments of their lives. A mother finds herself defending her son’s biggest bully from a tormentor of his own; a young man watches as his cape-wearing former high-school classmate proves himself more adept at making friends; a social worker gambles everything on expediting an adoption—and causes unforeseen consequences for every person in her life; a boy standing in for Jimmy Carter in his elementary school’s mock-election inadvertently starts a bloody playground war; an ex-con single father finds himself on the inside of his town’s social circle, with no clue as to how the game is played.
With lively storytelling and empathy to spare, The Book of Right and Wrong defies the notion that full, memorable characters live only in novels.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Matt Debenham’s collection The Book of Right and Wrong has everything I look for in a reading experience: engaging characters, compelling stories, and universal themes. But the unexpected moments were what I appreciated most—when I laughed out loud or paused to reread a lyrical sentence or put the book down to think not just about the characters’ lives but about my own. These stories are funny and heartbreaking and dark all at once, yet somehow the author manages to achieve an effortless feeling of interconnectedness, one story flowing into the next. Debenham writes about the forgotten, the offbeat, and the outcast in his beautifully unconventional way, giving voices to those who often go unheard. This is a stunning debut from a distinctive new presence in American storytelling, among the best collections I have read.” —Amy Greene, author of Bloodroot

 

 

 

Outrageous, tender, hilarious, bewildered: Matt Debenham’s The Book of Right and Wrong is so full of life that it’s a miracle the binding can hold it all together. A spectacular debut. —Paul Lisicky, author of Lawnboy and Famous Builder

 “Matt Debenham writes people you could swear you’ve actually met, and your heart goes out to each and every one of them. Even the sonsofbitches.” —Paul F. Tompkins, Comedian

 

“Inside this book is a universe of painfully nerdy kids and dangerously flawed parents who love each other so much and so badly they would do anything for each other, including lie, maim, and kill. Matt Debenham explores the paradoxical territory of the rights and wrongs of parenthood with sensitivity, compassion, intelligence, and a dark humor that never shies away from love’s unending contradiction. Precise prose, daring narrative turns, rueful humor, knife-to-the-gut vulnerability, and a deeply human regard for even the most compromised characters—there are so many reasons to love this book. —Pam Houston, Author of Cowboys Are My Weakness and Sight Hound

Book Description

Matt Debenham’s stories are for people who think they don’t like short stories. These stories don’t leave off in mid-breath; instead, they feature characters who seem to live on even after their closing pages. The humor in The Book of Right and Wrong makes the jarring moments that much more jarring, and the tender moments that much more tender.

 At once heartbreaking and hilarious, the eleven stories in The Book of Right and Wrong capture their characters at the defining moments of their lives. A mother finds herself defending her son’s biggest bully from a tormentor of his own; a young man watches as his cape-wearing former high-school classmate proves himself more adept at making friends; a social worker gambles everything on expediting an adoption—and causes unforeseen consequences for every person in her life; a boy standing in for Jimmy Carter in his elementary school’s mock-election inadvertently starts a bloody playground war; an ex-con single father finds himself on the inside of his town’s social circle, with no clue as to how the game is played. 

With lively storytelling and empathy to spare, The Book of Right and Wrong defies the notion that full, memorable characters live only in novels.

 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Ohio State University Press; 2 edition (May 22, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814251730
• ISBN-13: 978-0814251737
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #816,836 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Matt Debenham's fiction has appeared in Roanoke Review, The Pinch, Painted Bride Quarterly, North Atlantic Review, and elsewhere. He was Peter Taylor Scholar at the Sewanee Writers' Conference, and has received a fiction fellowship from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism. He holds an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars. His story collection, The Book of Right and Wrong, won the 2009 Ohio State University Press Prize for short fiction and was published in 2010.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful stories, April 24, 2010

By 

CBH (Indiana) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Book of Right and Wrong (Ohio State Univ Prize in Short Fiction) (Paperback)

I was at the gym about halfway through this book and found myself thinking: #$%@, it's all right. You don't have to worry about these people. The LePines. They're made up. They're going to be okay. THEY DON'T REALLY EXIST.
But I love them all (except maybe Miles's sister)(and the ambivalence I feel for her is mixed with the jealous crush I had on their mother the second I finished rereading "Kate the Destroyer"). And the other stories are just as good if not better. They reminded me of early Chris Offutt mixed with the best of Tom Perrotta, the best John Irving, some delicate well-timed Amy Hempel, and . . . Three times, I said to my wife: "You've got to read this story," and finally she said, "Just give the the whole thing when you're done."
I didn't mention my complicated feelings for Miles's mother to my wife.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compact, evocative, lyrical., April 22, 2010

By 

Eugene George "Daddy/Fixer/Cook/Comic/Know-it... (Burbank, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Book of Right and Wrong (Ohio State Univ Prize in Short Fiction) (Paperback)

Matt Debenham knows how to evoke characters and moods in a minuscule amount of space. His collection of short stories lives at ground level, in a broken-in world that never feels contrived. The quirks and twists that come and go throughout this collection are never there for show. Just like the oddities and grotesqueness that inevitably happen to you or me in the course of living and interacting with real people in the real world seem, in hindsight, to be inexorable. Is there drama? Yes, some of it bordering on the horrific. Is there pathos? Yes, gut-wrenching emotions in spades. The characters that populate Debenham's stories are most of all real. Flawed, loving, oblivious, cruel, misguided, hopeful, tragic though they may be they are never cardboard cut outs. The worst and best thing I can say about this book is it doesn't overstay it's welcome, it pulls up to your driveway and unloads its cargo, then rumbles off to parts unknown, leaving you wanting more. Like a lot of other aspects of life, sometimes, you just get what you get. The comfort here is that Mr. Debenham will continue to produce quality work like this for years to come.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Privileged Communication, August 17, 2010

By 

Robert K Graham - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Book of Right and Wrong (Ohio State Univ Prize in Short Fiction) (Paperback)

It's weird; as soon as I bought this book, I owned it. It was mine to do with what I wanted. I could use it as a coaster or make a bunch of paper airplanes out of its pages. And yet, when read it (come on, I'm not a MONSTER), I felt like I had been given a great privilege. Yeah, it's that good.

Matt Debenham creates stories that are funny and sad; brilliant, but instantly relatable. His characters are complex, nuanced, and REAL. We have thought as they think and felt as they feel -- even the best of us... and even the worst of them. These people are quite broken and all the king's horses and all the king's men don't have a prayer of putting them back together again. But, Matt Debenham lets us inhabit their worlds for a short time. And it's a privilege to do so.