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The Foreseeable Future
Reynolds Price's long and distinguished career has been remarkable both for his virtuosity and for the variety of forms he has embraced -- novels, stories, poems, essays, translations and plays. Now one of America's most respected and accomplished men of letters brings his formidable talents to bear on the long story, a form of novelistic scope and poetic intensity.
In the three stories that comprise The Foreseeable Future, we encounter some of Price's most arresting and moving characters, set against large vistas, namely the future, its banquet of promises and terrifying consequences. For Kayes Paschal in "The Fare to the Moon" this means leaving the black woman he loves -- and for whom he has already left his wife and son -- as he is called off to World War II ("Forget about Hitler and the wide Pacific, I could die this minute in full possession of all I hoped to find in life, whoever I hurt"). In the title story, for Whit Wade -- returning severely wounded from that same war and "dead" a long year afterwards -- it will mean unearthing his life again, and all its possibilities, among his family and the people he loves. And for Dean Walker -- loyal father and son, football coach and troubled young husband, the protagonist of "Back Before Day" -- the most important hours of his life till now will occur one hectic night before dawn breaks on a day that will be unlike any other in the knowledge and promise it brings.
Generous, wise, rich with the details of very human lives, The Foreseeable Future is proof again of Reynolds Price's mastery and vision.
In the three stories that comprise The Foreseeable Future, we encounter some of Price's most arresting and moving characters, set against large vistas, namely the future, its banquet of promises and terrifying consequences. For Kayes Paschal in "The Fare to the Moon" this means leaving the black woman he loves -- and for whom he has already left his wife and son -- as he is called off to World War II ("Forget about Hitler and the wide Pacific, I could die this minute in full possession of all I hoped to find in life, whoever I hurt"). In the title story, for Whit Wade -- returning severely wounded from that same war and "dead" a long year afterwards -- it will mean unearthing his life again, and all its possibilities, among his family and the people he loves. And for Dean Walker -- loyal father and son, football coach and troubled young husband, the protagonist of "Back Before Day" -- the most important hours of his life till now will occur one hectic night before dawn breaks on a day that will be unlike any other in the knowledge and promise it brings.
Generous, wise, rich with the details of very human lives, The Foreseeable Future is proof again of Reynolds Price's mastery and vision.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published May 14, 1991
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33 people want to read
About the author
Reynolds Price
218 books122 followersReynolds Price was born in Macon, North Carolina in 1933. Educated at Duke University and, as a Rhodes Scholar, at Merton College, Oxford University. He taught at Duke since 1958 and was James B. Duke Professor of English.
His first short stories, and many later ones, are published in his Collected Stories. A Long and Happy Life was published in 1962 and won the William Faulkner Award for a best first novel. Kate Vaiden was published in 1986 and won the National Book Critics Circle Award. The Good Priest's Son in 2005 was his fourteenth novel. Among his thirty-seven volumes are further collections of fiction, poetry, plays, essays, and translations. Price was a member of both the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and his work has been translated into seventeen languages.
Photo courtesy of Reynolds Price's author page on Amazon.com
His first short stories, and many later ones, are published in his Collected Stories. A Long and Happy Life was published in 1962 and won the William Faulkner Award for a best first novel. Kate Vaiden was published in 1986 and won the National Book Critics Circle Award. The Good Priest's Son in 2005 was his fourteenth novel. Among his thirty-seven volumes are further collections of fiction, poetry, plays, essays, and translations. Price was a member of both the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and his work has been translated into seventeen languages.
Photo courtesy of Reynolds Price's author page on Amazon.com
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 16, 2009
I've found it impossible to choose which of the three stories in this volume that I liked the most - The Foreseeable Future in which a young man returns from the war still feeling wounded, The Fare to the Moon describing a man's living with a black woman whom he prefers to his wife, or Back Before Day about the problems of a troubled football coach and the decision he makes after seeing a former student nearly killed in a motorcycle accident. Price writes so well that you feel you've known all the characters a long time.
October 15, 2017
Thoroughly enjoyable. The only (what could be called a flaw) is that the three stories are short stories, mostly. You want to know what's next for the people. Short stories are a slice of life, though good ones want us asking for more. Reynolds Price was a gift to all readers. Would that more of us read his fine books!
August 28, 2020
These three stories follow three different men through their struggles, two with a World War II background, the other from Vietnam. Each story looks at the relationship of these men with family members and friends. Each deals with different demons. These stories aren't tied up neatly at the end and lead happy endings. They leave the reader to ponder what will be next for them.
March 12, 2021
The three stories in this volume are incredibly moving. Price certainly knew how to play on our emotions. He also captures the North Carolina milieu, and slices of American life in the forties extremely well.
September 17, 2019
As always, Reynolds Price never disappoints. His words pour into my soul.
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May 6, 2014Good, solid book with 3 different stories. Reynolds Price is an extraordinary storyteller!
July 25, 2016
As I wrote at the time, "Price again shows himself a master of dialogue (especially Southern wit), rich characterizations and memorable images."
September 12, 2016
I love his lyrical style and rich description of people and life in the South
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews