Onlookers
Stories
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- $29.99
Publisher Description
* “Supple, superb.” —The Boston Globe * “A deft mash of lonesomeness and wit.” —Chicago Tribune * “Her best in more than two decades.” —The New York Times *
Award-winning short story writer Ann Beattie returns with a “sophisticated, idiosyncratic, and witty” (Star Tribune, Minneapolis) collection of linked stories set in Charlottesville, Virginia, in a moment of unrest.
Onlookers is collection of extraordinary stories about people living in the same Southern town whose lives intersect in surprising ways. Peaceful Charlottesville, Virginia, drew national attention when white nationalists held a rally there in 2017, a horrific event whose repercussions are still felt today. Confederate monuments such as General Robert E. Lee atop his horse were then still standing. The statues are a constant presence and a metaphoric refrain throughout this collection, though they represent different things to different characters. Some landmarks may have faded from consciousness but provoke fresh outrage when viewed through newly opened eyes.
In “Nearby,” an elderly man and his younger wife watch from their penthouse as protestors gather to oppose the once “heroic” explorers Lewis and Clark depicted towering over their native guide, Sacagawea. A lawyer in “In the Great Southern Tradition” deals with a crisis on Richmond’s Monument Avenue, while his sister and nephew plant tulip bulbs at her stately home.
These are stories of unexpected relationships that affirm the value of friendship, even when it requires difficult compromises or unexpected risks. Ann Beattie explores questions about the nature of community, and “proves her herself up to the task of pinpointing America’s contradictions” (Publishers Weekly).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Beattie (A Wonderful Stroke of Luck) takes stock of "liberal bubble" Charlottesville, Va., in this smart and wry collection. In "Pegasus," set during the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, retired doctor and Democratic Party donor Robert Boyd Anderson shelters in place with his caregiver, with whom he trades stories of old loves. "Nearby" follows an avid reader who agrees to sub for a creative writing instructor at the University of Virginia despite her lack of teaching experience. On campus, she navigates barricades set up after the violent Unite the Right rally and observes a protest over a sculpture of Sacajawea kneeling, labeled by activists as inaccurately "subservient." "In the Great Southern Tradition," set at a 52-acre estate outside town nicknamed Delusional Folly, portrays playwright Jonah Buxton planting tulips with his divorced aunt Monica and her lawyer brother before the property goes on the market. The elderly title character of "Monica, Headed Home," one of the strongest entries, lives alone and muses about Charlottesville's "privileged" social policing, such as the erasing of less-than-positive messages on a public blackboard outside city hall. Measured prose and incisive humor make these stories shine. Once again, Beattie proves herself up to the task of pinpointing America's contradictions.
