A Night at the Y: Stories
Robert Garner McBrearty
(Author)
21,000+ Reviews
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Description
Wild, funny, touching, and full of crackling dialogue, the stories in this collection turn the intensity of real life up a notch: A soap opera star turns a set into a real-life melodrama. A hot spring oasis is the source of a man's newfound sanity--or is it insanity? In Robert Garner McBrearty's talented hands, this exaggerated reality makes life seem much more hilarious and heartbreakingly real. Previously published in distinguished literary magazines, these stories are about people caught at the moment of life change. Each compelling character struggles with major issues: the struggle to hold down two jobs, hold on to love, or keep a grip on reality. And then there's the toughest tussle of all--the choice to be a responsible citizen or a heroic hellraiser who runs with the bulls. Written with wit and true grit, these stories take readers from the city to the open country, from Texas to California. But no matter where they are set, real people live there--out loud.
Product Details
Price
$12.99
$12.08
Publisher
Bower House
Publish Date
November 04, 2014
Pages
130
Dimensions
5.4 X 8.4 X 0.4 inches | 0.35 pounds
Language
English
Type
Paperback
EAN/UPC
9781942280026
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About the Author
Robert Garner McBrearty's stories have been anthologized in the Pushcart Prize and widely published in leading literary journals, including North American Review, Missouri Review, New England Review, Narrative Magazine, StoryQuarterly, and Mississippi Review. He is the author of three critically-acclaimed short story collections, A Night at the Y, Episode -- stories from which won him the Sherwood Anderson Foundation Fiction Award -- and Let the Birds Drink in Peace; and a novella, The Western Lonesome Society.McBrearty's writing awards include a Pushcart Prize and fellowships to the Macdowell Colony and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts. His stories have been selected for performances at Stories on Stage in Denver, and at Arts and Letters Live at the Dallas Museum of Art. Other awards include fellowships to the MacDowell Colony, the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Mass., and a New Mexico State Arts Grant.
Reviews
""I have always been a fan of Robert McBrearty's stories, ever since we published 'The Dishwasher' in The Pushcart Prize series. Here are nine more stories, sure to increase his fan club." --Bill Henderson, publisher, Pushcart Press"
""Robert McBrearty's characters are in trouble, off on crazy schemes, headed nowhere fast, but always they're somewhere on the path of trying to make a change for the better. These are plainspeaking, entertaining stories about driving in the lost lane, looking for exits." --Speer Morgan, editor, "The Missouri Review
""Robert McBrearty writes with Chekhovian grace, a great tenderness toward every character, and a deep understanding of the poignant comedy of ordinary life. All the stories in "A Night at the Y" stand quietly outside convention, on their own original ground." --Heidi Jon Schmidt, author, "The Rose Thieves
""Every now and then one encounters a book whose every sentence is so finely crafted as to approach perfection. Boulder author Robert McBrearty's collection of nine short stories is such a book. But this is more than a series of stylistic exercises. With wry humor and subtle satire, McBrearty writes of ordinary males of various ages lunging through life just a fraction out of sync with the rest of the world. Their endearing quality is their obliviousness to the larger universe. McBrearty roams from Mexico to Texas and California for his stories, with settings as diverse as a local Y, the set for a TV soap opera, or ordinary neighborhoods. His pace never falters as he offers his readers a cast of very ordinary people struggling to make sense of their small roles in life." --"Denver Rocky Mountain News
"I have always been a fan of Robert McBrearty's stories, ever since we published 'The Dishwasher' in The Pushcart Prize series. Here are nine more stories, sure to increase his fan club." --Bill Henderson, publisher, Pushcart Press
"Robert McBrearty's characters are in trouble, off on crazy schemes, headed nowhere fast, but always they're somewhere on the path of trying to make a change for the better. These are plainspeaking, entertaining stories about driving in the lost lane, looking for exits." --Speer Morgan, editor, The Missouri Review
"Robert McBrearty writes with Chekhovian grace, a great tenderness toward every character, and a deep understanding of the poignant comedy of ordinary life. All the stories in A Night at the Y stand quietly outside convention, on their own original ground." --Heidi Jon Schmidt, author, The Rose Thieves
"Every now and then one encounters a book whose every sentence is so finely crafted as to approach perfection. Boulder author Robert McBrearty's collection of nine short stories is such a book. But this is more than a series of stylistic exercises. With wry humor and subtle satire, McBrearty writes of ordinary males of various ages lunging through life just a fraction out of sync with the rest of the world. Their endearing quality is their obliviousness to the larger universe. McBrearty roams from Mexico to Texas and California for his stories, with settings as diverse as a local Y, the set for a TV soap opera, or ordinary neighborhoods. His pace never falters as he offers his readers a cast of very ordinary people struggling to make sense of their small roles in life." --Denver Rocky Mountain News
""Robert McBrearty's characters are in trouble, off on crazy schemes, headed nowhere fast, but always they're somewhere on the path of trying to make a change for the better. These are plainspeaking, entertaining stories about driving in the lost lane, looking for exits." --Speer Morgan, editor, "The Missouri Review
""Robert McBrearty writes with Chekhovian grace, a great tenderness toward every character, and a deep understanding of the poignant comedy of ordinary life. All the stories in "A Night at the Y" stand quietly outside convention, on their own original ground." --Heidi Jon Schmidt, author, "The Rose Thieves
""Every now and then one encounters a book whose every sentence is so finely crafted as to approach perfection. Boulder author Robert McBrearty's collection of nine short stories is such a book. But this is more than a series of stylistic exercises. With wry humor and subtle satire, McBrearty writes of ordinary males of various ages lunging through life just a fraction out of sync with the rest of the world. Their endearing quality is their obliviousness to the larger universe. McBrearty roams from Mexico to Texas and California for his stories, with settings as diverse as a local Y, the set for a TV soap opera, or ordinary neighborhoods. His pace never falters as he offers his readers a cast of very ordinary people struggling to make sense of their small roles in life." --"Denver Rocky Mountain News
"I have always been a fan of Robert McBrearty's stories, ever since we published 'The Dishwasher' in The Pushcart Prize series. Here are nine more stories, sure to increase his fan club." --Bill Henderson, publisher, Pushcart Press
"Robert McBrearty's characters are in trouble, off on crazy schemes, headed nowhere fast, but always they're somewhere on the path of trying to make a change for the better. These are plainspeaking, entertaining stories about driving in the lost lane, looking for exits." --Speer Morgan, editor, The Missouri Review
"Robert McBrearty writes with Chekhovian grace, a great tenderness toward every character, and a deep understanding of the poignant comedy of ordinary life. All the stories in A Night at the Y stand quietly outside convention, on their own original ground." --Heidi Jon Schmidt, author, The Rose Thieves
"Every now and then one encounters a book whose every sentence is so finely crafted as to approach perfection. Boulder author Robert McBrearty's collection of nine short stories is such a book. But this is more than a series of stylistic exercises. With wry humor and subtle satire, McBrearty writes of ordinary males of various ages lunging through life just a fraction out of sync with the rest of the world. Their endearing quality is their obliviousness to the larger universe. McBrearty roams from Mexico to Texas and California for his stories, with settings as diverse as a local Y, the set for a TV soap opera, or ordinary neighborhoods. His pace never falters as he offers his readers a cast of very ordinary people struggling to make sense of their small roles in life." --Denver Rocky Mountain News
