{"product_id":"the-best-american-short-stories-9780547939414","title":"The Best American Short Stories","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn his introduction to this one hundredth volume of the beloved \u003ci\u003eBest American Short Stories, \u003c\/i\u003e guest editor T. C. Boyle writes, \"The Model T gave way to the Model A and to the Ferrari and the Prius . . . modernism to postmodernism and post-postmodernism. We advance. We progress. We move on. But we are part of a tradition.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Boyle's choices of stories reflect a vibrant range of characters, from a numb wife who feels alive only in the presence of violence to a new widower coming to terms with his sudden freedom, from a missing child to a champion speedboat racer. These stories will grab hold and surprise, which according to Boyle is \"what the best fiction offers, and there was no shortage of such in this year's selections.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Mulling over the question of character likability, series editor Heidi Pitlor asks, \"Did I like these characters? I very much liked reading their stories, as did T. C. Boyle.\" Here are characters who \"are living, breathing people who screw up terribly and want and need and think uneasy thoughts.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e T. C. BOYLE, guest editor, has published fifteen novels and ten collections of short stories. He won the PEN\/Faulkner Award in 1988 for his novel \u003ci\u003eWorld's End\u003c\/i\u003e and the Prix Médicis étranger for \u003ci\u003eThe Tortilla Curtain\u003c\/i\u003e in 1995, as well as the 2014 Henry David Thoreau Prize for excellence in nature writing. His most recent book is the novel \u003ci\u003eThe Harder They Come\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e HEIDI PITLOR, series editor, is a former senior editor at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. She is the author of the novels \u003ci\u003eThe Birthdays \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eand The Daylight Marriage.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eT. C. BOYLE is the author of fourteen novels, including \u003ci\u003eDrop City, \u003c\/i\u003e which was a finalist for the National Book Award, and \u003ci\u003eWorld's End, \u003c\/i\u003e winner of the PEN\/Faulkner Award. He has also written nine short story collections. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e HEIDI PITLOR is the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Birthdays \u003c\/i\u003eand the forthcoming novel \u003ci\u003eThe Daylight Marriage.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Houghton Mifflin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50412653642002,"sku":"9780547939414","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_5c813e17-546d-4df0-a77d-9724aacc3c03.jpg?v=1729320873","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-best-american-short-stories-9780547939414","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}