The Secrets of a Fire King
Stories
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
The first story collection from the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Memory Keeper's Daughter
With The Memory Keeper's Daughter, Kim Edwards touched hearts across the nation. In this, her first collection of stories-now with three new stories added-she explores the lives of those who exist on the fringes of society: a fire-eater, an American and his Korean war bride, Madame Curie's maid, and others. Though their tales vary dramatically, each comes up against the barriers of place and circumstance in the most universal of experiences: the quest to discover and understand the elusive mysteries of love. Transporting readers to exotic locations, this beautiful collection reinforces Edwards's presence as an extraordinarily gifted writer.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
While many debuts rehash the author's personal life, Pushcart Prize winner Edwards presents a first collection of 11 short stories noteworthy for the range of their settings--America, Europe, Asia--and for the scope of the author's impressive imagination. Edwards uses the elements (fire, air, water, earth and metal) symbolically to ground her stories as characters move through the various landscapes she has created. An adolescent girl skydives during an emotional crisis; a pair of acrobats works out their private and professional balancing acts; and Madame Curie's cleaning woman becomes fascinated with radium. In the title story, a young carny fire-eater gets into a love quadrangle involving a revival preacher, a virginal country girl and her young brother, but the emotional climax is more than just the expected conflagration. On a quieter note, "The Invitation" is a beautifully focused tale set in Malaysia, where the societal and the personal worlds clash. Though the book is full of invention, the narrative tone remains strangely constant throughout the stories, no matter the setting or the speaker. Not all of these stories fly, but when Edwards is at her best, her tales read like the work of a wise traveler who returns home with uncommon souvenirs from other lands.
Customer Reviews
Beautifully meaningful, right down to the core
This book it’s my favorite read. Changed my life deeply and profoundly.
This books makes me speechless
These stories are beyond phenomenal . While you are reading, you are unaware of anything else going on around you. They envelope the reader. I could have read hundreds of these unexpected gems.
Simply Wonderful
This is the first book of short stories that I found difficult to put down. Each story wraps it's arms around you and pulls you in until you become part of it. I've never found myself so engaged so quickly. Kim Edwards has easily become my favorite writer. Thank you Kim.