Twenty Grand: And Other Tales of Love and Money (P.S.) (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: crack lady, hungry self, Caitlin Bug, Dirk Drew, Jacques Michaud (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Mostly female loners, outsiders and have-nots populate this marvelous, bleak debut collection. A young woman extracts herself from an overly insistent blind date who violates her privacy in Big Bear, California, only to find her usual certainty shaken years later by the memory of his grasping, petulant behavior. In Summer, with Twins, a college-age woman waitressing during the break wavers in declining her greasy boss's indecent proposal, perpetuating a crisis of self-worth that reverberates through her tenuous summer friendships. Among the 13 pieces, surreal vignettes serve as a taut, dramatic counterpart to the more straightforward narratives: The Wolf at the Door in particular has a being-chased-in-your-dreams feel of danger and terror, as a woman battles to keep an anthropomorphic wolf from entering her house, until he asks her to open the door and her sister insists that she do so, saying, it's polite! Delving into extremes of monotonous oppression, Curtis describes a reality that must be endured: her characters cling fiercely to their rationalizations, but even the more avaricious are sympathetic. (July)
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Review

"A book as delightful as it is disturbing." -- Gary Shteyngart, author of Absurdistan

"An instant classic. . . . Rebecca Curtis is a hugely talented writer." -- The Village Voice

"Gorgeous. . . . Vivid imagery suffused with longing: The stories in Rebecca Curtis’ Twenty Grand are satisfingly bittersweet." -- The Los Angeles Times

"Marvelous. . . . Delving into extremes of monotonous oppression, Curtis describes a reality that must be endured." -- Publishers Weekly

"Rebecca Curtis is one of the most exciting practitioners of this most difficult form in America today." -- George Saunders

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (July 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061173096
• ISBN-13: 978-0061173097
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #625,368 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, July 16, 2007

By	A Reader (Lawrence, KS USA) - See all my reviews

These are some of the strangest and bravest stories I have read. They completely broke my heart. There is so much honesty, anger, and compassion here. The characters are very compelling and Curtis brings them to such dangerous places, I could not stop reading--in that way, the book felt more like a novel than stories. And the writing is fantastic--funny, surprising, sad.

Clearly a writer of exceptional talent.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Curtis Country, July 16, 2007

By	Dave Harmon "Dave" (Fresno, CA) - See all my reviews

It's been some time since I've been this excited by a contemporary fiction writer. I found myself reading my favorite parts out loud to my wife, then reading them over myself. Years ago, there used to be an expression about Raymond Carver's fiction--"Carver Country." Curtis's characters are pickled in the same wonderfully bleak atmosphere (wonderful for the reader, that is, who doesn't have to be the one tortured by two blonde twins, or hit on by a coke-sniffing chef, or stalked by a would-be one night stand). Whether it's the heartbreaking ending of "Hungry Self" or the completely unexpected turn that "The Alpine Slide" takes, this is the kind of fiction that keeps you up reading at 1.a.m. I think Curtis is the best short story writer in America today, and hopefully this collection will give her the attention she deserves.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Favorite, July 8, 2007

By	N. Connell (Tennessee) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Just get it. You will laugh. Maybe you will cry (if you do that sort of thing). Definitely you will be touched. And you will enjoy reading this fabulous collection. My faves: Wolf At the Door, The Witches, The Sno-Kone Cart. But you can pick your own - so get it and read and escape for a day.