The Temporary Life

by Eric Wasserman

In this stunning collection, Eric Wasserman's beautifully crafted stories chart the experiences of charcters who, in various ways, must come to terms with the less-than-perfect realities of their lives. He writes with a rare mixture of ironic wit and compassionate perception, and the result is both captivating and luminous. --Frederick Reiken

Genres: Fiction

222 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Born and raised amongst the puddles of Portland, Oregon, Eric Wasserman has traveled widely and has lived in many places near oceans and seas, including the great city of Los Angeles. An eternal West Coaster at heart, he is now permanently self-exiled to the beautifully landlocked Midwest. He is the author of a collection of short stories, The Temporary Life, and his fiction has won the David Dornstein Memorial Creative Writing Contest as well as the Červená Barva Press Fiction Chapbook Prize. He is an Assistant Professor of English at The University of Akron, where he is the founder and faculty advisor for Rubbertop Review: An Annual Journal of The University of Akron and Greater Ohio. He is also on the faculty of the Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts program in Creative Writing (NEOMFA). A member of the Board of Trustees for Akron Film, he lives in Akron, Ohio with his amazing wife, Thea, their three cats, and a lovable and loyal, although regrettably stubborn and willful St. Bernard mix dog named Jor-El. Celluloid Strangers is his first novel.

Reviews

[The University of Akron Press]

The Temporary Life: Stories by Eric Wasserman (2010)

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author was a professor of mine at UAkron. I'm not a short story fan, but I really liked this collection.

[Jennifer Pullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully written nuanced collection, that tackles life and its fragility with humor, and critically interrogates stereotypes from the point of view of an insider.

[Ruth Conrad · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son used this collection of short stories as a text in his fiction appreciation class at the University of Akron. The author is an Akron prof, and he also guest lectured in the class. I appreciated this book more than my son, but now he has experienced "my" kind of book. The stories are based on relationships, frequent disappointments, and Jewishness.

[Yuliana · Rating 4 out of 5]

My friend, such a sensitive soul, and such a wonderful writer.

[Michael Atwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of short stories by Eric Wasserman. It features characters who are all Jewish but is mainstream literature. I am modeling my first collection after this book.

[Steve McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. Great slice of life stories most with a real edge to them. A perfect book to read bit by bit, as the mood strikes you.