<![CDATA[Back in the World: Stories]]>

false <![CDATA[Back in the World: Stories]]>

11470

To American soldiers in Vietnam, "back in the world" meant America and safety. To Tobias Wolff's characters, Back in the World is where lives that have veered out of control just might become normal again. Unfortunately, the men and women in these gripping, pungent, and wonderfully skewed stories have only the vaguest notion of what normal is. A gentle priest finds himself in a Vegas hotel with a hysterical, sun-burned stranger. A show-biz hopeful undergoes a dubious audition in a hearse speeding across the California desert. An aging soldier is distracted from a night of philandering by a gun-toting neighbor and a suicidal enlisted man. As he moves among these unfortunates, Wolff observes the disparity between their realities and their dreams, in ten stories of exhilarating lucidity and grace. Stories included are: "The Missing Person," "Say Yes," "The Poor Are Always With Us," "Sister," "Soldier's Joy," "Desert Breakdown," "Our Story Begins," "Leviathan," and "The Rich Brother." "Terrific...The magic of his fiction cannot be explained. It is the ancient art of the master storyteller."--Tim O'Brien

13919

1985

Back in the World: Stories

total:266|5:81|4:127|3:50|2:7|1:1|

266

1078

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3 0 false false Mon Dec 15 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 14 17:51:05 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 15 19:03:42 -0800 2008 Coming Attractions, which I had hoped would set the tone for the entire bunch. The rest of the stories, with t...more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Jun 03 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 12 12:58:54 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 12 13:06:25 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri May 01 08:38:18 -0700 2009 Thu May 28 12:34:36 -0700 2009
One review puts in well in saying that as he tells the story...more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri May 16 15:43:27 -0700 2008 Fri May 23 17:56:21 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Dec 21 04:32:02 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 23 03:16:13 -0800 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Mar 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Nov 24 07:56:56 -0800 2008 Thu Mar 26 12:14:01 -0700 2009
Liked these stories best: "The Poor Are Always With Us," "The Rich Brother," "The Missing Person" and "Leviat...more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat Jul 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 14 10:02:09 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 19 18:01:35 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Nov 02 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Nov 03 11:30:29 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 03 11:35:38 -0800 2008
Typically excellent dialog.

But more than once I wanted something to happen -- anything -- that didn't. Characters just move on, wi...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Nov 29 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 18 13:38:26 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 29 15:06:04 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Fri Jun 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 16 19:32:27 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 20 08:38:04 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Wed Jul 16 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 20 17:26:32 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 27 17:19:52 -0700 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Mon Nov 10 10:42:20 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 10 10:42:20 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Oct 23 14:17:05 -0700 2008 Sat May 31 21:20:30 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 23 14:17:05 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Tue Jun 17 20:01:03 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 20 20:26:11 -0700 2008
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Recommended.]]> 4 0 false false Wed Apr 25 07:16:53 -0700 2007 Sat Jun 02 07:27:26 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Thu Sep 04 11:28:20 -0700 2008 Thu Sep 04 11:29:54 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Jan 23 17:46:49 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 23 17:49:02 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 11 05:46:04 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 11 05:47:06 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Wed Oct 17 12:11:32 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 17 12:13:13 -0700 2007 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=11470