Death and So Forth
Stories
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3.0 • 1 Rating
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
With Death and So Forth, esteemed writer and editor Gordon Lish returns with a new book of scintillating short fiction. With his trademark precision, wit, and wiliness, Lish writes outside the margins and around the edges of the death, loss, and the fractiousness and fragmentation of language. Death and So Forth collects a number of Lish’s acclaimed stories and introduces eight new fictions, including a tribute to Denis Johnson and so many others lost in the course of a long life. Brilliant and sharp-eyed, this is a treasure for fans of Gordon Lish, new and lifelong.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Mortality and death hang over many of the pieces in this searing collection from the legendary Lish (Dear Mr. Capote). In "Naugahyde," composed of an erstwhile couple's dialogue over the phone, reminiscences of a sex act give way to thoughts of death (" ‘Who's not already dying?' she said. She said, ‘When are we not dying?" '). Many of the pieces take the form of fond autobiographical reminiscences from Lish's early life or complex, essayistic thoughts about friends who have died. His affectionate memory of Denis Johnson ("Hustlers and All in the Rogue-Snown Night") also touches on Nora Ephron, Don DeLillo, and other literary lights. (This is followed by a cheeky piece about a popular porn actor named Jamie Gillis in which Johnson is again mentioned.) More personal, and emotional, is the story of his wife Barbara's death, entitled "Grace." Lish's children and a beloved uncle are also recurring subjects. Another thread that runs through the book is Lish's love of and playfulness with language. The book's subtitle, "A Tisket of Twenty Scriptions" heralds the numerous inspired riffs that appear throughout. Prickly and insightful, the collection reads like a biography told in vivid snapshots. Lish's passion, incisiveness, and irascibility blaze through.
