Author

Contributions

  • Ray Roberts - Editor
  • Nancy Resnick - Book Design
  • John K. Humble - Cover photograph
  • Whit Preston - Cover photograph
  • Paul Buckley - Cover Design

Publication

2002-04-01 - Viking, New York City, New York, USA, New York (State)

Language

English

Word Count

61,500 words, Guess

Page Count

246 pages

Physical Format

Harcover

Identifiers

  • Internet Archiveisbn_9780670030729
  • ISBN-100670030724
  • ISBN-139780670030729
  • LibraryThing343499
  • Goodreads1202584
and 5 more

Classifications

  • DDC813/.54
  • LCCPS3610.O3 E47 2002
  • LCCPS3610.O3E47 2001

Description

An ATF raid, a moonshot gone wrong, a busload of female cancer victims determined to live life to the fullest—these are the compelling terrains Adam Johnson explores in his electrifying debut collection. A lovesick teenage Cajun girl, a gay Canadian astrophysicist, a teenage sniper on the LAPD payroll, a post-apocalyptic bulletproof-vest salesman—each seeks connection and meaning in landscapes made uncertain by the voids that parents and lovers should fill. With imaginative grace and verbal acuity, Johnson is satirical without being cold, clever without being cloying, and heartbreaking without being sentimental. He shreds the veneer of our media-saturated, self-help society, revealing the lonely isolation that binds us all together.

First Sentence

When I reach the rooftop, I pull the dustcovers off my rifle scope and head for a folding chair leaned up against an air-conditioning unit-right where I left it the last time I was up here.

Subjects

Other Editions

  • Emporium: StoriesHarcoverViking2002-04-01

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