Product Description

“Extraordinary for its craft and emotional effect . . . [Ethan Canin is] a writer of enormous talent and charm.”
–The Washington Post

“Character is destiny,” wrote Heraclitus–and in this collection of four unforgettable stories, we meet people struggling to understand themselves and the unexpected turns their lives have taken. In “Accountant,” a quintessential company man becomes obsessed with the phenomenal success of a reckless childhood friend. “Batorsag and Szerelem” tells the story of a boy’s fascination with the mysterious life and invented language of his brother, a math prodigy. In “City of Broken Hearts,” a divorced father tries to fathom the patterns of modern relationships. And in “The Palace Thief,” a history teacher at an exclusive boarding school reflects on the vicissitudes of a lifetime connection with a student scoundrel. A remarkable achievement by one of America’s finest writers, this brilliant volume reveals the moments of insight that illuminate everyday lives.

“Captivating . . . a heartening tribute to the form . . . an exquisite performance.”
–The Boston Sunday Globe

“A model of wit, wisdom, and empathy. Chekhov would have appreciated its frank renderings and quirky ironies.”
–Chicago Tribune

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #735239 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-08
• Released on: 2006-08-08
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 7.97" h x .46" w x 5.22" l, .56 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Canin, whose short-story collection Emperor of the Air was justly feted, as his novel Blue River was not, here offers four brilliant longer stories, each seamlessly structured and with prose and characters to linger over. The book's ostensible theme is Heraclitus's observation that character is fate, which is all well and good until we try to understand the meaning of either term. Take Mr. Hundert, the honorable boys' school teacher who in the title story tries to make sense of a student's rise from a cheating dullard to an industrial and political leader. As for the question of character, hardly does a protagonist gain a slippery hold on the essence of another person's character, when a forced self-evaluation occurs: in "City of Broken Hearts" a recently divorced man considers his son as alien but in fact, the youth is the one person who sees through--and redeems--his father's bluff boorish exterior. Canin keeps readers so thoroughly engaged that the anticipation of resolution is almost like dread, as in the beautiful and wrenching "Batorsag and Szerelem," in which the narrator recalls the gradual revelation of his family's painful secrets and a quiet secret of his own, the most painful and insidious of all. BOMC and QPB selection; author tour.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Four stories from Harvard Medical School graduate Canin, author of the fine collection Emperor of the Air ( LJ 2/1/88).
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
If one were to diagram Canin's fictional form, it would have to be of classical proportions: clean, noble, and golden. His latest book presents us with four beautifully told long short stories. In each, a man muses over his past and realizes how little control he has had over pivotal moments in his life. "Accountant" is a gripping variation on the turtle and the hare fable. The turtle, and narrator, is Abba Roth, a serious student turned dutiful accountant. The hare is Eugene Peters, Roth's academically disinclined boyhood friend who was able to parlay his enthusiasm for auto mechanics into a hugely lucrative business. Now solidly middle-aged, they have a showdown of sorts at a fantasy baseball camp overseen by none other than the great Willie Mays. As Roth surprises everyone with his able performance on the field and incredible awkwardness everywhere else, he finally gives into his deeply buried "impulse for uproar and disorder." The title story also tells the tale of a methodical, even fussy man brought up short by the bold, unscrupulous acts of richer and more powerful figures. In each story, Canin proves himself adept at articulating moments of profound embarrassment followed by flashes of self-knowledge that are either invigorating or demoralizing. Moving and memorable. Donna Seaman