The Winter Father

Exquisitely powerful short stories by the masterful Andre Dubus. Originally published in two volumes, The Times Are Never So Bad and Finding a Girl in America. This collection includes some of Andre Dubuss most celebrated stories including A Fathers Story, The Pretty Girl, and Killingsthe basis of the Academy Award-nominated film In the Bedrooma swift tale of revenge that leaves readers wondering what they might do in the name of family love. Dubuss stories feel as fresh today as they did when I first read them, three decades ago, Richard Russo writes in the introduction. One reason is the delight he takes in playing off readers genre expectations. Conventional robbery stories, for example, are almost always concerned with whether the thieves will get caught. Here [in Anna] its the exact opposite. Dubus doesnt care whether Anna and Wayne get caught; not getting caught actually deepens their predicament. Similarly, Townies, which at first appears to be the story of a murdered college girl, turns out to be about the unexpected link between the campus cop who finds her body and the boy who kills her, both of whom have been excluded from the privileged girls world by virtue of their class. Collected Short Stories and Novellas by Andre Dubus includes We Dont Live Here Anymore, The Winter Father, and The Cross Country Runner. All three contain work by an American master, perfect for anyone who loves stories of the human heart and where it can lead us.