Acts of Contrition: Stories

by Thomas Cobb

"What's remarkable about Thomas Cobb's stories is that they manage, simultaneously, to be so hot and so cool. He takes a bead on men and their illusions-boys, too, halfway toward the adult passion that will forever bedevil them-and what he fixes in his sights is the male animal in extremis, pained, full of longing, and finally made sympathetic by his tough and honest observation."-Rosellen Brown

"These stories are built of small moments hauntingly rendered. And they are strong enough to bear the heft and heartbreak of adult life. The funny disorder of it all is made memorable by Mr. Cobb, and his work is worth reading, and even singing, aloud."-Fredrick Busch

"Thomas Cobb, in this stunning collection of short stories, draws unrelenting portraits of cruelty, whether it's the ravages of age in 'Ball Hawks' or the 'costly hobby' of dying in 'Oncology.' Even the 'acts of contrition' are twisted. In revealing the truths of human predatory instincts, Cobb continues to show that he is a master of characterization and one of our most daring craftsmen."-Jeffrey Greene,author, French Spirits

About the Author:
THOMAS COBB grew up in Tucson, Arizona, and attended the creative writing programs at the University of Arizona and the University of Houston. He teaches writing and literature at Rhode Island College. He lives in western Rhode Island with his wife, dog, and two cats. He is the author of one published novel, Crazy Heart.

162 pages, Paperback

First published September 11, 2003

About the author

Brutal and deft, laced with both violence and desire, Shavetail plunges into the deepest of human urges."

Reviews

[Amy (Other Amy)]

What a good teacher does not do, is sit in some bar—no, not some bar—the very Rodeo Bar where you are now drinking that whisky listening to that jukebox and rolling dice with the barmaid to see who pays for the music. You are only pretending to write your lecture, and you are fooling no one. No matter how much you like watching those little plastic horses pull that little plastic wagon in the Budweiser sign, that is their work, which they are doing, not yours, which you are not. Get to it, boy. Now.

From "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive", excerpted from this collection free online here: http://www.fiftytwostories.com/?cat=76

Oh, yes, must read this anthology.