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Aliens in the Prime of Their Lives
In this, his first collection of stories since his celebrated, award-winning Last Days of the Dog-Men, Brad Watson relates the brutality of human experience with unique genius and tenderness, delving into the lives of ordinary characters stricken by loneliness, longing, frustration, and the lure of better worlds.
In harmonious prose, Watson writes about every kind of domestic discord. In “Vacuum,” three young brothers make trouble when they call on the seedy neighborhood doctor to cheer up their underappreciated mother. Originally published in The New Yorker, “Visitation” follows a down-and-out, divorced father as he spends a weekend with his son at a California motel. A husband shoots himself in the foot in “The Terrible Argument,” letting down not only his wife but his dog as well. In the masterful title novella, a freshly married, disastrously mismatched, and expectant young couple are visited by an unusual pair of inmates from a nearby insane asylum, who just might be—or might as well be—aliens from another planet.
Brad Watson writes with such an all-seeing, six-dimensional view of human hopes and inadequacies that his talent must come from another planet. With wry humor and otherworldly grace, he reminds us how alien we humans really are—to each other and to ourselves.
In harmonious prose, Watson writes about every kind of domestic discord. In “Vacuum,” three young brothers make trouble when they call on the seedy neighborhood doctor to cheer up their underappreciated mother. Originally published in The New Yorker, “Visitation” follows a down-and-out, divorced father as he spends a weekend with his son at a California motel. A husband shoots himself in the foot in “The Terrible Argument,” letting down not only his wife but his dog as well. In the masterful title novella, a freshly married, disastrously mismatched, and expectant young couple are visited by an unusual pair of inmates from a nearby insane asylum, who just might be—or might as well be—aliens from another planet.
Brad Watson writes with such an all-seeing, six-dimensional view of human hopes and inadequacies that his talent must come from another planet. With wry humor and otherworldly grace, he reminds us how alien we humans really are—to each other and to ourselves.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published March 22, 2010
37 people are currently reading
664 people want to read
About the author
Brad Watson
22 books173 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Brad Watson taught creative writing at the University of Wyoming, Laramie. His first collection, Last Days of the Dog-Men, won the Sue Kauffman Award for First Fiction from the American Academy of Arts & Letters; his first novel, The Heaven of Mercury, was a finalist for the National Book Award, and his Aliens in the Prime of Their Lives was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.
Brad Watson taught creative writing at the University of Wyoming, Laramie. His first collection, Last Days of the Dog-Men, won the Sue Kauffman Award for First Fiction from the American Academy of Arts & Letters; his first novel, The Heaven of Mercury, was a finalist for the National Book Award, and his Aliens in the Prime of Their Lives was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 84 reviews
June 1, 2012
I loved Brad Watson's previous book of short stories, Last Days of the Dog-Men: Stories. The stories in this book don't quite measure up to the ones in that book; some of them seem almost experimental in nature. Divorce and men trying to reconnect with their estranged sons during limited visitation hours are popular themes. There're also a few about men trying to understand women. (Hell, I am one, and I don't understand them!)
Watson really seems to shine when he's writing about children. The first story in the book, Vacuum, is wonderful. Three young boys, concerned about their mother's depression, seek help from a retired doctor in their neighborhood.
He opened the door on up and stood there in it, wearing an old cracked pair of leather slippers on his white feet, a stinking-looking pair of pajama bottoms, and a tartan robe that had no belt. He fished a nonfilter Camel from a package in the breast pocket of the robe and lit it with a match from a book of matches and blew a cloud of smoke out over their heads where they stood in the carport looking up at him. The boys were astonished at the amount of gray-and-white-speckled hair on his stomach and chest. It was like he was wearing squirrel pelts there or something. It was hard not to stare. The middle brother looked past Dr. Hornegay into the den. He was hoping for a sight of Dr. Hornegay's wife, whom no one had seen in years because, word was, Dr. Hornegay's wife was ridden down by sadness and an extra one hundred and fifty pounds and no longer came up out of their basement. The only thing the middle brother could see in the den was a stretched-out La-Z-Boy on the headrest of which lay a scrawny yellow cat, looking right back at him. It gave him the creeps.
Later, the kids attempt to discover how a cowboy can jump off a roof onto a horse without hurting his nuts. I never thought about it before myself, but you just know I can't stop thinking about it now.
I loved these boys and would happily devour an entire novel devoted to them.
The other really standout story, Alamo Plaza, features a man reminiscing about a long ago family vacation, the highlight of which was a freak accident in which a man lost a toe in the motel swimming pool.
It was fantastic. It made the whole trip.
Watson remembers; to a kid, seeing a severed toe can easily be the most memorable part of an outing.
Watson really seems to shine when he's writing about children. The first story in the book, Vacuum, is wonderful. Three young boys, concerned about their mother's depression, seek help from a retired doctor in their neighborhood.
He opened the door on up and stood there in it, wearing an old cracked pair of leather slippers on his white feet, a stinking-looking pair of pajama bottoms, and a tartan robe that had no belt. He fished a nonfilter Camel from a package in the breast pocket of the robe and lit it with a match from a book of matches and blew a cloud of smoke out over their heads where they stood in the carport looking up at him. The boys were astonished at the amount of gray-and-white-speckled hair on his stomach and chest. It was like he was wearing squirrel pelts there or something. It was hard not to stare. The middle brother looked past Dr. Hornegay into the den. He was hoping for a sight of Dr. Hornegay's wife, whom no one had seen in years because, word was, Dr. Hornegay's wife was ridden down by sadness and an extra one hundred and fifty pounds and no longer came up out of their basement. The only thing the middle brother could see in the den was a stretched-out La-Z-Boy on the headrest of which lay a scrawny yellow cat, looking right back at him. It gave him the creeps.
Later, the kids attempt to discover how a cowboy can jump off a roof onto a horse without hurting his nuts. I never thought about it before myself, but you just know I can't stop thinking about it now.
I loved these boys and would happily devour an entire novel devoted to them.
The other really standout story, Alamo Plaza, features a man reminiscing about a long ago family vacation, the highlight of which was a freak accident in which a man lost a toe in the motel swimming pool.
It was fantastic. It made the whole trip.
Watson remembers; to a kid, seeing a severed toe can easily be the most memorable part of an outing.
April 18, 2023
Short story collections can be a bit 'hit and miss' but, while not every story here hits the mark, the majority of them do, and it was a pleasure to read this PEN Faulkner finalist from 2011.
Watson's prose is certainly masterful, atmospheric and edgy, and his colorful characters are portrayed with the insight of someone who is a keen observer of human behaviour.
The subject matter is mostly quirky, focusing on people and events from the fringes of society. There is little here that can be described as mainstream or upper/middle class.
The longest story is the title story, which is the final story in the collection. What begins as a yarn about a teenage couple discovering the joys of sex, becoming pregnant, sneaking off to be married secretly with the intention of living together and raising their child, soon becomes something other, involving a lunatic asylum and alien visitors. Clever, funny and more than a little weird.
The collection also opens strongly with 'Vacuum', in which young brothers try to help out their overworked, highly stressed Mum by finding her some domestic help and male companionship. As expected, not all goes according to plan.
Some of the stories are on the dark side, involving taboo relationships, racism, death, divorce and substance abuse. Watson studiously avoids the banal.
As for many short stories, some don't quite satisfy, leaving the reader hanging,and wondering whether it was maybe the first chapter of an idea intended to be longer and then abandoned.
But, for the most part, these are high quality, beautifully written, original, satisfying and rewarding
short stories that are worthy of praise and attention.
Watson's prose is certainly masterful, atmospheric and edgy, and his colorful characters are portrayed with the insight of someone who is a keen observer of human behaviour.
The subject matter is mostly quirky, focusing on people and events from the fringes of society. There is little here that can be described as mainstream or upper/middle class.
The longest story is the title story, which is the final story in the collection. What begins as a yarn about a teenage couple discovering the joys of sex, becoming pregnant, sneaking off to be married secretly with the intention of living together and raising their child, soon becomes something other, involving a lunatic asylum and alien visitors. Clever, funny and more than a little weird.
The collection also opens strongly with 'Vacuum', in which young brothers try to help out their overworked, highly stressed Mum by finding her some domestic help and male companionship. As expected, not all goes according to plan.
Some of the stories are on the dark side, involving taboo relationships, racism, death, divorce and substance abuse. Watson studiously avoids the banal.
As for many short stories, some don't quite satisfy, leaving the reader hanging,and wondering whether it was maybe the first chapter of an idea intended to be longer and then abandoned.
But, for the most part, these are high quality, beautifully written, original, satisfying and rewarding
short stories that are worthy of praise and attention.
July 31, 2017
Title story is so good. Many others are as well. Highly recommend.
September 9, 2011
"[T]he inexplicable everyday, the oddness of being, the senseless belonging to this and not that." This line, from the story "Alamo Plaza," seems to sum up the outlook of the disaffected characters in Brad Watson’s Aliens in the Prime of Their Lives.
I picked this book up thinking it would be similar to the quirky hipster tales of Kelly Link, Karen Russell or Aimee Bender, so I was surprised to find a collection that shared more in common with the subtle, disquieting stories of Raymond Carver. That being said, I suspect I'm one of the few people out there who doesn't really "get" Carver, so perhaps the comparison shouldn't be viewed as great praise coming from me.
Watson’s prose is spare and perfectly distilled to create a vague, low grade tension throughout each piece. There often seems to be something lurking just outside the margins, something unspoken and potentially appalling. Something that exists always just beyond the reader’s peripheral vision. My favorite piece, "Terrible Argument," about the rapid disintegration of a marriage after one strange and violent episode, is told from the point of view of the couple’s bewildered and melancholy dog. Another, "Fallen Nellie," relates the unfortunate history of the corpse of a young woman lying about ten feet from a hiking trail. The author focuses his lens on the minutiae of his character’s lives, while the larger, and ostensibly more important issues, like racism, adultery, divorce, domestic violence, rape, incest, murder, serve as a backdrop or a by-product, kind of blurry and slightly surreal. This makes the experience of reading the stories more like scientific observation, as opposed to emotional engagement. I suspect this is the author’s intent.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. Watson still manages to insert scattered moments of dry, offbeat humor. Particularly in "The Misses Moses," in which a would be renter is doted upon by two spinster sisters or the opener, "Vacuum," wherein all hell breaks loose when a depressed mother of three nearly falls for the charms of an opportunistic neighbor. Ultimately though, both tales end on a poignant note.
I tend to shy away from contemporary short fiction, finding it more difficult to connect with than novel-length works. However, I approached Watson’s work with an open mind and was rewarded with a collection that was both atmospheric and thought provoking.
I picked this book up thinking it would be similar to the quirky hipster tales of Kelly Link, Karen Russell or Aimee Bender, so I was surprised to find a collection that shared more in common with the subtle, disquieting stories of Raymond Carver. That being said, I suspect I'm one of the few people out there who doesn't really "get" Carver, so perhaps the comparison shouldn't be viewed as great praise coming from me.
Watson’s prose is spare and perfectly distilled to create a vague, low grade tension throughout each piece. There often seems to be something lurking just outside the margins, something unspoken and potentially appalling. Something that exists always just beyond the reader’s peripheral vision. My favorite piece, "Terrible Argument," about the rapid disintegration of a marriage after one strange and violent episode, is told from the point of view of the couple’s bewildered and melancholy dog. Another, "Fallen Nellie," relates the unfortunate history of the corpse of a young woman lying about ten feet from a hiking trail. The author focuses his lens on the minutiae of his character’s lives, while the larger, and ostensibly more important issues, like racism, adultery, divorce, domestic violence, rape, incest, murder, serve as a backdrop or a by-product, kind of blurry and slightly surreal. This makes the experience of reading the stories more like scientific observation, as opposed to emotional engagement. I suspect this is the author’s intent.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. Watson still manages to insert scattered moments of dry, offbeat humor. Particularly in "The Misses Moses," in which a would be renter is doted upon by two spinster sisters or the opener, "Vacuum," wherein all hell breaks loose when a depressed mother of three nearly falls for the charms of an opportunistic neighbor. Ultimately though, both tales end on a poignant note.
I tend to shy away from contemporary short fiction, finding it more difficult to connect with than novel-length works. However, I approached Watson’s work with an open mind and was rewarded with a collection that was both atmospheric and thought provoking.
June 19, 2017
This was not the book but a short story from the book by the same name. I saw it on Kindle for 99 cents and thought I was buying the complete book. But the story was worth 99 cents, so no complaint other than I now have to find the book!
In this story a couple of 17 year old teenagers have a torrid romance and, of course, the girl gets pregnant. They live in one of those rural southern towns where there is little opportunity to get out. It is the 50's. They elope during the summer after their junior year in high school and move into an apartment. The boy can't sleep. He gets up and finds an older couple on his couch, dressed in white pajamas. They tell him they are aliens and ask if they can have the baby, telling him they will just make it disappear with no pain to the girl. He declines (without asking his new wife). They leave.
Things seem different after that -- there is unexplained food in the refrigerator, the boy gets hired full time and allowed to apprentice as a carpenter, their son is born. Life is good. Suddenly he wakes in the hospital to see very anxious parents. Then the doctor asks the parents to leave and the doctor and the nurse talk to the girl and boy and then the real world returns. Do the girl and boy then live the lives they would have or are they altered somehow?
In this story a couple of 17 year old teenagers have a torrid romance and, of course, the girl gets pregnant. They live in one of those rural southern towns where there is little opportunity to get out. It is the 50's. They elope during the summer after their junior year in high school and move into an apartment. The boy can't sleep. He gets up and finds an older couple on his couch, dressed in white pajamas. They tell him they are aliens and ask if they can have the baby, telling him they will just make it disappear with no pain to the girl. He declines (without asking his new wife). They leave.
Things seem different after that -- there is unexplained food in the refrigerator, the boy gets hired full time and allowed to apprentice as a carpenter, their son is born. Life is good. Suddenly he wakes in the hospital to see very anxious parents. Then the doctor asks the parents to leave and the doctor and the nurse talk to the girl and boy and then the real world returns. Do the girl and boy then live the lives they would have or are they altered somehow?
September 11, 2010
I first read one of the story, Vacuum, in a recent issue of Granta. Liked the story and was eager to read the collection when it was eventually published. Vacuum, by turns funny, sad, bittersweet, is a highlight of the collection. So much is all too familiar in the story of the brothers: their mom is tired, overwhelmed by her life; they sense something is wrong, and try in their naive and immature way to make thing "alright" again. The image of them sitting on the couch, watching cartoons while the mom vacuums and rails against her situation and life despite the boys being unable to hear is just one of the bittersweet moments in the story. And, it's these comical, but sad moments that bring all of these stories together. Some good writing and interesting stories in this, a first collection.
June 23, 2011
Brad Watson's collection of short stories ache with confusion and loneliness, and the result is akin to a lucid dream. Each of his stories recall the recent past, a pre-internet stillness that amplifies his characters' disconnect. While I enjoyed this collection, I finished with some uncertainty over what I'd just read. Not every story stuck with me, but the ones that did have made me curious to seek out Watson's other work.
(My full review can be found on Glorified Love Letters.)
(My full review can be found on Glorified Love Letters.)
March 28, 2010
One scene of the Mom screaming about how hard she works as she vacumms in front of her 3 boys watching a loud tv, had me in stitches. They can't hear her distress but react by first trying to woo back their old maid with dirt, because she likes dirt, and then consults the local doctor. Brad Watson is so psychologically astute and great writer. Been both that mom and one of those kids.
August 8, 2010
A sample of stories with such well developed characters, I felt as though I could see through them, around them and right into their lives. Every story rang true. This is a collection of haunting stories that delves in the lives of ordinary people stricken by loneliness, longing and the lure of a better world. I look forward to reading more of Brad Watson.
May 21, 2013
This brilliant, darkly comic, sometimes sad, always imaginative and inventive story collection is unlike any I've ever read. Watson is a humanist of the first order, and also a truly original fiction writer.
October 29, 2016
Thoroughly enjoyed each and every story. Fantastic character development, the likes of which I haven't read in ages. After liking but not dearly loving Miss Jane, I am so glad I kept reading. Can't wait for more (and to catch up in reverse - next: Last Days of the Dog-Men)!
March 20, 2015
What a great collection of short stories! Brad Watson's prose is amazing. Equally amazing? His grasp of how oddball and screwy humankind really is. Don't miss this treat!
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January 4, 2020Best book I’ve read since AIRSHIPS. Watson’s prose is unreal, and the science fiction elements of the title novella make for some of the best speculative prose I’ve come across.
August 24, 2023
Very hit or miss collection for me.
September 29, 2020
Brad Watson’s “Aliens in the Prime of their Lives”
There are good reasons why this book was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner. Watson’s writing is beautiful, as usual, and just as strange as it ever was. It indeed has aliens in it, and a mental institution, and a fair amount of sex, but it isn’t graphic, at least not in the usual sense of the word.
I read it because I should have read it before now. I guess it was my attempt to mourn the untimely passing of a Mississippi-born author who was friends with another favorite author and friend, Randall Keenan...both of whom died this summer much too young. And both of whom had more stories to tell that now we won’t get to hear...at least not here on earth.
There are good reasons why this book was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner. Watson’s writing is beautiful, as usual, and just as strange as it ever was. It indeed has aliens in it, and a mental institution, and a fair amount of sex, but it isn’t graphic, at least not in the usual sense of the word.
I read it because I should have read it before now. I guess it was my attempt to mourn the untimely passing of a Mississippi-born author who was friends with another favorite author and friend, Randall Keenan...both of whom died this summer much too young. And both of whom had more stories to tell that now we won’t get to hear...at least not here on earth.
January 11, 2022
This book was a group of short stories written by Brad Watson. His work is based on knowledge of the culture of the southern part of the United States, in part. Several of them were about the underbelly, or what some might call the White Trash or at least the hillbillies. All sorts of issues are within the bounds of the book including incest.
The longest story is the one written with the title of the book as its title as well. It is really out there, and caused me to consider labeling it science fiction, but then it is likely not really.
Most of the work in the book seems to be told in the third person with the events being told about, not from the point of view of any of the characters but rather from the viewpoint of an outside. On the other hand, a few are first-person including the title story.
Very unque stories, some more interesting than others.
The longest story is the one written with the title of the book as its title as well. It is really out there, and caused me to consider labeling it science fiction, but then it is likely not really.
Most of the work in the book seems to be told in the third person with the events being told about, not from the point of view of any of the characters but rather from the viewpoint of an outside. On the other hand, a few are first-person including the title story.
Very unque stories, some more interesting than others.
September 1, 2024
I was half expecting this to be a chronicle of human oddities, twisted tales of redemption that tug at your heartstrings because the characters are just so pathetic yet endearing, in true Southern Gothic fashion. Don’t get me wrong - there was a touch of absurdity, but the pathos is stronger here, particularly the kind that comes from the realization that your whole life has been a bit of a farce culminating in alcoholism, depravity, and awkward relations with family. One story in particular stuck with me for its adherence to an unsettling Southern stereotype involving incest - the young niece of the narrator is impregnated by her father and/or brothers and is clearly not right in the head after all the trauma she’s suffered. Needless to say, she suffers yet another trauma while staying with him, which brings to light earlier traumas…it’s all quite disturbing.
November 18, 2017
Brad Watson's collection of short stories are the slightly off centre, disturbing territory so beloved by David Lynch and there are some real gems in here. Standouts for me are Alamo Plaza, The Visitation and Terrible Argument.
Suburbia in decay is something American writers do well, constructing a people adrift, washed up in a place where something is just not quite right and there is little they can do about it. These are well written with spare, direct style. Getting four stars and easily.
Suburbia in decay is something American writers do well, constructing a people adrift, washed up in a place where something is just not quite right and there is little they can do about it. These are well written with spare, direct style. Getting four stars and easily.
November 26, 2024
From the moment you read the first story you know this book is going to be sooooo annoying and honestly miserable to get through. Just picture the author, a white man, sitting in a room typing the N-word over and over and then him standing up and calling it a short story. Definitely feels like another white guy power playing racism with zero regard for how to make a quality contribution to the discussion. DNF!
January 16, 2025
I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. They had great prose and delved into the wide range of human experiences from poignant to humorous to disgusting. The title story left me scratching my head and I would definitely read it again.
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February 18, 2025DNF 0 stars
Only read 3 stories and had to stop. Boring, ending made no sense and didn't want to read any more.
For the rest of my review, visit my Vlog at:
https://youtu.be/h3BCV5VifIM
Enjoy!
Only read 3 stories and had to stop. Boring, ending made no sense and didn't want to read any more.
For the rest of my review, visit my Vlog at:
https://youtu.be/h3BCV5VifIM
Enjoy!
June 22, 2017
Bleak stories, desolate landscapes, lonely drifting people written about with a haunting singular elegance.
August 7, 2017
A good reason to maybe revisit an author down the pike.
August 27, 2017
The long title story tipped this from 2 to 3 stars
for me and now I'll search out his first collection,
"Last Days of the Dog-Men."
for me and now I'll search out his first collection,
"Last Days of the Dog-Men."
January 26, 2018
I love short stories in general, and these are no exception. They take you through all the emotions, joy, sorrow, fear, revulsion, laughter and poignancy, in a few short pages.
November 6, 2018
At the beginning the first two chapters how my interest. After that it just went downhill for me. This book is just not for me.
February 23, 2020
3.5 stars
March 18, 2022
Most interesting collection of delightful stories. Watson is a master of well-drawn out, descriptive settings. What an imagination!
July 21, 2022
Seemed like fragments of other stories but without any coherence
Displaying 1 - 29 of 84 reviews