A Handbook for Drowning

by David Shields

Interconnected stories deal with Walter, a young man trying to understand his parents, his ideals, and his emotions

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Literature

Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

David Shields is the author of fourteen books, including Reality Hunger (Knopf, 2010), which was named one of the best books of 2010 by more than thirty publications. GQ called it "the most provocative, brain-rewiring book of 2010"; the New York Times called it "a mind-bending manifesto." His previous book, The Thing About Life Is That One Day You'll Be Dead (Knopf, 2008), was a New York Times bestseller. His other books include Black Planet: Facing Race During an NBA Season, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award; Remote: Reflections on Life in the Shadow of Celebrity, winner of the PEN/Revson Award; and Dead Languages: A Novel, winner of the PEN Syndicated Fiction Award. His essays and stories have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Harper's, Yale Review, Believer, Village Voice, Salon, Slate, McSweeney's, and Utne Reader; he's written reviews for the New York Times Book Review, Los Angeles Times Book Review, Boston Globe, and Philadelphia Inquirer. His work has been translated into fifteen languages.

Reviews

[Christoph · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I heard about Shield's Reality Hunger from his interview on Colbert and while waiting around for a copy to fall into my lap, I happened on this little ditty. It is an easy read without much thought, but subtext is subtle so if you pick it up and read in a weekend, you might have missed too much. For instance, at first I didn't even make the connection this was an actual novel; I thought that it was a collection of short stories. And that is the flow of the book, a series of disjointed events in time that comprise the subjects life. It is a non-linear, longitudinal story of a working class liberal family coming of age during the late sixties/early seventies. It is smart and situational and perfectly exemplifies the agony of the American left during the time period. This story has it all: from a story-within-the-story thing, to awkward family dialogue, to abstract fantasy, and even a pretty impressive word porn piece describing a botched sexual encounter. There are some interesting metaphors contained in the situations such as the absurdity of class warfare or the neutered effect of protest as well as the lifelong effect of self-repression. Its close to being amazing but my biggest gripe with it is that its meaningless. The book itself feels unfulfilling by its end which is no doubt the intention in a story whose unifying theme is drowning in the urbanity of practical life when emotive although muted events surround the characters during what was picturesquely tumultuous times. If the goal in writing the book was to make an amazing work feel average, perhaps Shields is more a genius than I realize.

[Michele · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow. I just did NOT see what other people saw in this book. I didn't see plot or resolution in any of the stories - I found them poorly written and completely forgettable. And as for the overarching theme of the stories together, well, there wasn't much there, either. There were recurring themes, the mother's cancer, drowning, the Rosenbergs, but nothing made sense in the book any more than anything else. Bizarre collection of stories. I thought it was terrible.

[Kent Winward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely a David Shields' book, but the collage effect with the fiction feel didn't work quite as well.

[Miriam Fitting]

Pretty yet gritty stories about sometimes narrator Walt in his awkward childhood and faintly sordid adulthood--his defeats, his loves, his painful epiphanies. An enjoyable read, makes me want to read more, and later work by Shields.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A master of creative non-fiction, these stories are brief, personal, and interesting. Made me want to check out Remote, which I hear is better.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read on the story of man who attempts to balance his grief for his dying mother and the pmpersonal rationality he has been taught to practice.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful collage.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

my favorite by david shields so far--as an engaging read as opposed to an interesting conceptual project. fav in that category would be reality hunger. so far.

[Erin Manion · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each story jumps through time in wonderful flow.

[Frances Dinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly derivative stories that show early ideas for Shield's future collage work but with none of the same energy as his nonfiction.

[Richard Jespers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great set of short stories, all with the same characters. Instead of being told chronologically, however, the stories appear in a nonlinear manner with various points of view employed.

[Debra B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the way all of these stories included the members of one family. Well-written.

[Rachel Dows · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of these stories were very good, while others fell flat. The characters were interwoven such that, while the main focus seemed to be Walt, we caught glimpses of different perspectives as well. The author certainly has an interesting style.