Join Amazon Prime and ship Two-Day for free and Overnight for $3.99. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
50 used & new from $5.80

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Most of It
 
See larger image
 
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don’t have a Kindle? Get yours here.
 
  

The Most of It (Paperback)

by Mary Ruefle (Author)
No customer reviews yet. Be the first.

List Price: $11.95
Price: $11.35 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $0.60 (5%)
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Want it delivered Wednesday, July 15? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
29 new from $5.80 21 used from $5.84
Also Available in: List Price: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover 3 used & new from $29.92

Frequently Bought Together

The Most of It + Indeed I Was Pleased With the World + A Little White Shadow
Price For All Three: $37.10

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: The Most of It by Mary Ruefle

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

  • Indeed I Was Pleased With the World by Mary Ruefle

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

  • A Little White Shadow by Mary Ruefle

    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

A Little White Shadow

A Little White Shadow

by Mary Ruefle
4.0 out of 5 stars (5)  $10.80
All-American Poem (APR Honickman 1st Book Award)

All-American Poem (APR Honickman 1st Book Award)

by Matthew Dickman
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  $10.98
Human Dark with Sugar

Human Dark with Sugar

by Brenda Shaughnessy
4.3 out of 5 stars (3)  $11.70
The Principles of Uncertainty

The Principles of Uncertainty

by Maira Kalman
4.7 out of 5 stars (27)  $18.87
Mistaking The Sea For Green Fields (Akron Series in Poetry)

Mistaking The Sea For Green Fields (Akron Series in Poetry)

by Ashley Capps
4.8 out of 5 stars (4)  $11.66
Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
These 31 "stories" from poet Ruefle (Indeed I Was Pleased with the World) are more like brief squibs, close observations and meditations. "Snow," for example, expresses the wondrous and sexual sense of benediction the narrator feels when it snows. "The Diary" appears as a girl's autobiographical reflection on growing up on her father's troubled "diary farm." A cardinal "looking like Santa Claus" seems to mimic the behavior of humans in "My Search Among the Birds." The pieces' brevity and whimsy sometimes veer into single sentiment gags, as when detailing (in "A Certain Swirl") a sentence's sense of abandonment in being left on the blackboard after the class's departure. This collection showcases Ruefle's considerable lyrical powers and memorable flights of fancy. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Description

"[Mary] Ruefle . . . brings us an often unnerving, but always fresh and exhilarating view of our common experience of the world."-Charles Simic

Fans of Lydia Davis and Miranda July will delight in this short prose from a beloved and cutting-edge poet. Here are thirty stories that deliver the soft touch and the sucker punch with stunning aplomb. Ducks, physicists, detectives, and The New York Times all make appearances.

From "The Dart and the Drill":

I do not believe that when my brother pierced my skull with a succession of darts thrown from across our paneled rec room on the night of November 18th in my sixth year on earth, he was trying to transcend the notions of time and space as contained and protected by the human skull. But who can fathom the complexities of the human brain? Ten years later-this would have been in 1967-the New York Times reported a twenty-four year old man, who held an honor degree in law, died in the process of using a dentist's drill on his own skull, positioned an inch above his right ear, in an attempt to prove that time and space could be conquered . . .

Mary Ruefle's poems and prose have appeared in Harper's Magazine, The Best American Poetry, and The Next American Essay. Her many awards include NEA and Guggenheim fellowships. She is a frequent visiting professor at the University of Iowa, and she lives and teaches in Vermont.



See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details


What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Most of It
78% buy the item featured on this page:
The Most of It
$11.35
Indeed I Was Pleased With the World
11% buy
Indeed I Was Pleased With the World
$14.95
Post Meridian (Poetry Ser)
6% buy
Post Meridian (Poetry Ser)
$12.95
Girl Factory
3% buy
Girl Factory 4.2 out of 5 stars (4)
$11.21

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
Check a corresponding box or enter your own tags in the field below.
(2)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
Help others find this product — tag it for Amazon search
No one has tagged this product for Amazon search yet. Why not be the first to suggest a search for which it should appear?

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


There are no customer reviews yet.   Create your own review
Video reviews
Video reviews
New feature! Amazon now allows customers to upload product video reviews. Use a webcam or video camera to record and upload reviews to Amazon.



Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
New! See all customer communities, and bookmark your communities to keep track of them.
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

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


   


Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)


Look for Similar Items by Category


Free Songs, Cheap Albums
Special MP3 Deals
Visit our Special Deals Store to find ultra-low prices on great albums, daily deals, and over 500 free songs.

Shop now

 

Best Books of 2008

Best of 2008
Find our top 100 editors' picks as well as customers' favorites in dozens of categories in our Best Books of 2008 Store.
 

Spalook: Free Shipping

Archipelago Botanicals Grapefruit Gift Set
Get free shipping on Spalook orders of $50 or more. Find favorite skin care, makeup, and fragrances here.

Shop all Spalook now

 

Best Books

Best of the Month
See our editors' picks and more of the best new books on our Best of the Month page.
 

 

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.


Where's My Stuff?

Shipping & Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

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

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.

Continue shopping: Top Sellers
Paranoia
Paranoia by Joseph Finder
My Soul to Lose
My Soul to Lose by Rachel Vincent
Glenn Beck's Common Sense
Glenn Beck's Common Sense

Conditions of Use | Privacy Notice © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates