Turtleface and Beyond
Stories
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Darkly funny stories by the man David Sedaris calls "the most outlandish and energetic writer I can think of"
Paddling down a remote, meandering river, Georgie's friend Otto decides to do something both spectacular and stupid: He scales a sandy cliff that rises from the water and runs down its steep face, preparing for a triumphant running dive. As his friends look on, they watch something awful unfold: Otto lands with an odd smack and knocks himself unconscious, blood spilling from his nose and mouth. Georgie arrives on the scene first and sees a small turtle, its shell cracked, floating just below the water's surface.
Otto and the turtle survive the collision, though both need help, and Georgie finds his compassions torn. This title story sets the tone for the rest of Arthur Bradford's Turtleface and Beyond, a strangely funny collection featuring prosthetically limbed lovers, a snakebitten hitchhiker turned wedding crasher, a lawyer at the end of his rope, a ménage à trois at Thailand's Resort Tik Tok, and a whole host of near disasters, narrow escapes, and complicated victories, all narrated by Georgie, who struggles with his poor decisions but finds redemption in the telling of each of his tales. Big-hearted and hilariously high-fueled, Turtleface and Beyond marks the return of a beloved and unforgettable voice in fiction.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The short stories in Bradford's new collection (Dogwalker) all share a protagonist, Georgie. Lucky for us, Georgie has a knack for being around when someone is about to do something "spectacular and stupid." Georgie narrates with such charisma ("It was an irresponsible thing to do. I even knew it at the time, but I still went ahead.") it's easy to understand why women crawl in bed with him unbidden or how he is friends with so many friendless people. Georgie evenhandedly recounts the series of mishaps and strange scenarios he finds himself in as he makes his way from Vermont to Resort Tik Tok in Thailand, before ending up in Brooklyn. In the title story, Georgie's friend Otto attempts a running cliff dive into a remote river to impress some women and severely injures himself and the turtle that breaks his fall. Further adventures involve snakebites, prostheses, and a big, mysterious box in a backyard. With this delightful collection, Bradford maintains a finely calibrated comic tone on the edge of dark, which through some feat of magic remains buoyant and mirthful.