or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
Express Checkout with PayPhrase
What's this? | Create PayPhrase
More Buying Choices
41 used & new from $4.83

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Ice at the Bottom of the World: Stories
 
 

The Ice at the Bottom of the World: Stories (Paperback)

~ Mark Richard (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

List Price: $12.95
Price: $10.36 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $2.59 (20%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Want it delivered Tuesday, November 17? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
20 new from $7.24 21 used from $4.83

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
  Library Binding, December 31, 1990 $24.50 $24.50 --
  Paperback, December 31, 1990 $10.36 $7.24 $4.83

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel by Amy Hempel

The Ice at the Bottom of the World: Stories + The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel
  • This item: The Ice at the Bottom of the World: Stories by Mark Richard

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel by Amy Hempel

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Pugilist at Rest: Stories

The Pugilist at Rest: Stories

by Thom Jones
4.5 out of 5 stars (35)  $15.29
Charity

Charity

by Mark Richard
4.3 out of 5 stars (10)  $12.82
Reasons to Live

Reasons to Live

by Amy Hempel
4.2 out of 5 stars (20)  $12.15
Fishboy

Fishboy

by Mark Richard
4.1 out of 5 stars (13)  $15.00
Jesus' Son: Stories

Jesus' Son: Stories

by Denis Johnson
4.5 out of 5 stars (98)  $9.36
Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An abandoned boy with fish-like features stows away on a trawler manned by a deranged crew of outcasts and oddities.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal

In Richard's collection of short stories, we are in familiar but updated Faulkner/Caldwell territory, the gothic American South. Specifically, we are in the country of that endangered species, the redneck. In sharply detailed stories presented without excuse or judgment, and often with a sharp bite of humor, Richard offers creditable characters in the middle of their singular lives. In the complex title story, Powell has come to ask Bill Doodlum for his daughter's hand, "second-hand as it was, a little legal holdover from the mixed-up-divorce-from-Tommy-John." As the two men sit in the garage drinking beer, the reader learns about the Doodlums of Doodlum County and the Carters of Carter County, and also learns why, when Bill's wife shoots him, his death is recorded as a suicide. Though full of peculiarly Southern connections, these stories transcend Southern particularity. They are about universals: love and loss and birth and death. --Marcia Tager, Tenafly, N.J.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 160 pages
  • Publisher: Anchor; 1st Anchor Books Ed edition (January 1, 1991)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0385415443
  • ISBN-13: 978-0385415446
  • Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #384,685 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Look Inside This Book


What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Ice at the Bottom of the World: Stories
78% buy the item featured on this page:
The Ice at the Bottom of the World: Stories 4.8 out of 5 stars (11)
$10.36
The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel
7% buy
The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel 3.8 out of 5 stars (31)
$11.52
Geek Love: A Novel
5% buy
Geek Love: A Novel 4.2 out of 5 stars (258)
$10.20
Charity
5% buy
Charity 4.3 out of 5 stars (10)
$12.82

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

 

Customer Reviews

11 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Macabre, hilarious, desperate, heartwarming, May 25, 2000
Macabre, hilarious, desperate, heartwarming, Mark Richard's collection is stunning in its stark juxtaposition of a gamut of emotions and moods. The prose is sparse, and all the more evocative because of it. The world Richard depicts is itself sparse - his characters take their comfort where they can. It is a world of immense cruelty and immensely harsh beauty. There is pain in this washed out, painted over landscape of mudflats, fairgrounds and burning shacks, but also a piercing redemptive vision. As I read I found the first story superlative, then the next, then the next, right to the end. Books may not change your life, but this one may well leave its images searing your imagination for a long time. When I consider the lack of attention Mark Richard has received for his fiction, I'm tempted to believe there's no justice in the world at all, but then I realise that for such a gem of a book to exist at all is a kind of secret miracle. Witness it while you can.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Shame on Doubleday, April 22, 2000
By A Customer
Mark Richard is simply the best current short story writer (with some competition from Tom Franklin). While no single story in this collection rivals Richard's "masterpiece," the story BIRDS FOR CHRISTMAS collected in CHARITY, each piece is subtle, precise, brilliant.

However, the overall enjoyment of the book is hampered somewhat by the shameful job performed by the publisher (Doubleday). ICE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD feels like it's printed on two-ply paper towels shoved between dry cleaning shirt cardboards which serve as the cover. You worry something must be wrong with the book because the publisher did such a cost cutting - dismissive job in producing it.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, haunting Southern short stories..., October 18, 2004
I loved reading this collection of short stories. The stories are dark, haunting, beautiful, and some even heartwarming. Mark Richard's stories are quite similar to Faulkner's work in that they are set in the South and have a gothic, no-nonsense quality to them that make them unforgettable. Richard's voice is one of brutal honesty, and I found myself nodding in agreement with various passages. My favorite stories are "Happiness of the Garden Variety," "The Ice at the Bottom of the World," "On the Rope," "The Theory of Man," and "Strays." The one bad thing about this collection is its lack of popularity. I cannot believe that such a beautiful book could go almost unnoticed, but that is often the case with true literary offerings. I feel bad enough that it took me ten years to give this collection a whirl. Mark Richard is a brilliant storyteller and I would have liked it if he had written other works. I shall give this wonderful piece of work all the word of mouth it deserves.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars STORIES AT THE TOP
A path of clear words directly to the feeling. Strays, the first story on the book, is just a masterpiece. Forget about complex metaphors or shining adjectives. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Carlos Rivero Moya

5.0 out of 5 stars A Rave Review
Richard is a virtuoso, a master of the craft. The first piece in the collection sets a high expectation that is fully satisfied with the writing that follows. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Robin R. Tung

5.0 out of 5 stars Lean and vivid
"Strays," the opening story of "The Ice at the Bottom of the World," is one of the strongest in the collection. Read more
Published on June 20, 2007 by Jonathan Carr

5.0 out of 5 stars Master of the Southern Short Story
Not since William Faulkner or Eudora Welty have we seen such a consummate master of the Southern short story as Mark Richard. Read more
Published on December 27, 2006 by Jason Fisher

5.0 out of 5 stars Short stories with collateral effects
Mark Richard's collection of stories "The Ice at the Bottom of the World" is a rare gem. Not many writers are so capable of dealing with so much and being so profound using so... Read more
Published on January 4, 2006 by Alysson Oliveira

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ice at the Bottom of the World
I've never read a short story collection like this one. I've since read it dozens of times and have sought out everything written by Mark Richard. Read more
Published on November 21, 2000 by Zach Brockhouse

5.0 out of 5 stars Richard is one of the best
Bravo to the previous customer, but I would like to add a collection to his list from a writer in his own back yard. Read more
Published on November 4, 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars 1 of the 10 Great Story Collections of the late 20th Century
The other nine are Allan Gurganus' "White People;" Lorrie Moore's "Like Life;" William Vollmann's "Rainbow Stories;" Robert Olen Butler's "Good... Read more
Published on April 2, 1998 by ccrossingham@cahners.com

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   




Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject

 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.