The Un Americans

Author: Molly Antopol

Stock information

General Fields

  • : $35.00 NZD
  • : 9780007548811
  • : HarperCollins Publishers
  • : Fourth Estate Ltd
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  • : 01 January 2014
  • : United Kingdom
  • : 35.0
  • : 01 February 2014
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  • : books

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  • : Molly Antopol
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  • : Hardback
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  • : 813.6
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  • : 272
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Barcode 9780007548811
9780007548811

Description

'The UnAmericans' is a debut story collection of great poise. A former dissident from Communist-era Prague fears his daughter's new play will cast him in an unflattering light. A divorced dry cleaner tries to move on, bemused by his daughter's reawakened faith. A Hollywood actor is imprisoned by the House Un-American Activities Committee and has a fraught reunion with his son. A young Israeli journalist, left unemployed after America's most recent economic crash, begins dating a middle-aged widower. And in the book's final story, a tour de force spanning three continents and three generations of women, a young American and her Israeli husband are forced to reconsider their marriage after the death of her art-collecting grandmother. This collection is a stunning exploration of characters shaped by the forces of history. Each finely turned story presents a different, morally suspenseful problem. Arranging and resolving these problems, Molly Antopol writes with an orchestral richness, in fiction that is intricately but delicately composed. But 'The UnAmericans' is remarkable as much for its heart as its sophistication: each voice is humane, full of warmth and wit; each page brims with a love of life. The result is a debut collection with the power not only to absorb and thrill, but to move.

Reviews

Praise for Molly Antopol, a National Book Foundation 'Five Under Thirty-Five' Author: 'A writer of seismic talent.' Adam Johnson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Orphan Master's Son 'Beautiful, funny, fearless, exquisitely crafted, and truly novelistic in scope ... It's clear we're in the hands of a master storyteller.' Jesmyn Ward, National Book Award-winning author of Salvage the Bones 'Molly Antopol's stories display that wonderful combination of an original voice with settings that are masterfully rendered. A rich collection, a great read.' Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone 'A brave, generous, and effortlessly smart story collection by a young writer with talent to burn.' Lauren Groff, author of Arcadia

Author description

Molly Antopol is a recent Wallace Stegner Fellow in fiction at Stanford University, where she currently teaches as a Jones Lecturer. Her short stories have appeared in numerous American publications, and she has received special mention in 'Best American Short Stories'. Her essays and reviews appear in the 'San Francisco Chronicle', 'The Rumpus' and NPR's 'This American Life'. She lives in San Francisco and Tel Aviv.