A dozen remarkable short stories from the author of "Little Big Man," offering an absurdist journey through the mind of one of America's great storytellersThomas Berger's first short story collection in almost thirty years showcases the author's acclaimed wit, intellect, and emotional sureness. His pages teem with larger-than-life characters: Dr. Poon, a Hollywood snake handler in way over his head during a film shoot in Southeast Asia; Charlie, an apartment superintendent who finds a peculiarly powerful plastic pistol; and Vernon, the confused owner of a talking puppy. No matter where Berger takes his readers, his world is full of oddities. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Thomas Berger including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author's personal collection.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Thomas Louis Berger was an American novelist, probably best known for his picaresque novel Little Big Man, which was adapted into a film by Arthur Penn. Berger explored and manipulated many genres of fiction throughout his career, including the crime novel, the hard-boiled detective story, science fiction, the utopian novel, plus re-workings of classical mythology, Arthurian legend, and the survival adventure.
Berger's use of humor and his often biting wit led many reviewers to refer to him as a satirist or "comic" novelist, though he rejected that classification.
As with any book of short stories, some are better than others. I enjoyed most of these stories, but one of them was not to my taste at all. Still, Berger is an excellent writer and even though the subject of the story was a bit stupid, the writing was still great.