false 136348 <![CDATA[A Relative Stranger: Stories]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826m/136348.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826s/136348.jpg Jacket Description: In his earlier collections of stories, Harmony of the World and Through the Safety Net, Charles Baxter immediately established himself as a master of the form. Now, with his gift for capturing the immediate moment, Baxter gives us thirteen stories that illuminate the connections of relatives and strangers. Shock, comedy, and love combine in unexpected ways. "You can't just get a brother off the street," the narrator of the title story says, but indeed he does. A woman tries to elude her lover's voice by spending an entire day without words. A marriage is strained by the sudden departure of a wife's former lover during a snowstorm.


These stories, compressed and richly evocative, depict the relationships between men and women in youth, middle age, and old age. Most of the stories are love stories, but it is love tinged with fear, even danger. In this fiction the smallest shock can pierce the heart of intimacy, the smallest tenderness force recognition and some kind of response from a stranger.

]]> 136348 3 1970815 book 1990 A Relative Stranger: Stories total:212|5:63|4:93|3:50|2:6|1:0| 212 849 295 14 45531 3.66 5283 862 46685320 26561 136348 0393322203 9780393322200 12 <![CDATA[A Relative Stranger: Stories]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826m/136348.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826s/136348.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/136348.A_Relative_Stranger_Stories 4.00 206 Jacket Description: In his earlier collections of stories, Harmony of the World and Through the Safety Net, Charles Baxter immediately established himself as a master of the form. Now, with his gift for capturing the immediate moment, Baxter gives us thirteen stories that illuminate the connections of relatives and strangers. Shock, comedy, and love combine in unexpected ways. "You can't just get a brother off the street," the narrator of the title story says, but indeed he does. A woman tries to elude her lover's voice by spending an entire day without words. A marriage is strained by the sudden departure of a wife's former lover during a snowstorm.


These stories, compressed and richly evocative, depict the relationships between men and women in youth, middle age, and old age. Most of the stories are love stories, but it is love tinged with fear, even danger. In this fiction the smallest shock can pierce the heart of intimacy, the smallest tenderness force recognition and some kind of response from a stranger.

]]> 1990 3 0 false Tue Mar 03 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 17 16:49:02 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 17:45:10 -0800 2009 A Relative Stranger is a good collection of stories, but it left me feeling a little uneven. I'm going to stand by my belief that most short story collections include two or three stories that shouldn't be there and A Relative Stranger is no exception. This may have something to do with publishing...more...]]> 18302272 652004 136348 0393322203 9780393322200 12 <![CDATA[A Relative Stranger: Stories]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826m/136348.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826s/136348.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/136348.A_Relative_Stranger_Stories 4.00 212 Jacket Description: In his earlier collections of stories, Harmony of the World and Through the Safety Net, Charles Baxter immediately established himself as a master of the form. Now, with his gift for capturing the immediate moment, Baxter gives us thirteen stories that illuminate the connections of relatives and strangers. Shock, comedy, and love combine in unexpected ways. "You can't just get a brother off the street," the narrator of the title story says, but indeed he does. A woman tries to elude her lover's voice by spending an entire day without words. A marriage is strained by the sudden departure of a wife's former lover during a snowstorm.


These stories, compressed and richly evocative, depict the relationships between men and women in youth, middle age, and old age. Most of the stories are love stories, but it is love tinged with fear, even danger. In this fiction the smallest shock can pierce the heart of intimacy, the smallest tenderness force recognition and some kind of response from a stranger.

]]> 1990 3 0 false Fri Nov 20 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 21 11:28:48 -0700 2008 Sun Nov 22 19:58:01 -0800 2009 more...]]> 38104480 81125 136348 0393322203 9780393322200 12 <![CDATA[A Relative Stranger: Stories]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826m/136348.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826s/136348.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/136348.A_Relative_Stranger_Stories 4.00 212 Jacket Description: In his earlier collections of stories, Harmony of the World and Through the Safety Net, Charles Baxter immediately established himself as a master of the form. Now, with his gift for capturing the immediate moment, Baxter gives us thirteen stories that illuminate the connections of relatives and strangers. Shock, comedy, and love combine in unexpected ways. "You can't just get a brother off the street," the narrator of the title story says, but indeed he does. A woman tries to elude her lover's voice by spending an entire day without words. A marriage is strained by the sudden departure of a wife's former lover during a snowstorm.


These stories, compressed and richly evocative, depict the relationships between men and women in youth, middle age, and old age. Most of the stories are love stories, but it is love tinged with fear, even danger. In this fiction the smallest shock can pierce the heart of intimacy, the smallest tenderness force recognition and some kind of response from a stranger.

]]> 1990 4 0 false Tue Nov 18 20:35:08 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 04 10:00:34 -0800 2009
ETA: Excellent, excellent introduction to Charles Baxter - the title story in particular was a standout with its version of counterpoint characters t...more...]]> 23707888 196137 1967650 0140156283 9780140156287 2 <![CDATA[A Relative Stranger]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1191027440m/1967650.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1191027440s/1967650.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1967650.A_Relative_Stranger 4.00 6 Jacket Description: In his earlier collections of stories, Harmony of the World and Through the Safety Net, Charles Baxter immediately established himself as a master of the form. Now, with his gift for capturing the immediate moment, Baxter gives us thirteen stories that illuminate the connections of relatives and strangers. Shock, comedy, and love combine in unexpected ways. "You can't just get a brother off the street," the narrator of the title story says, but indeed he does. A woman tries to elude her lover's voice by spending an entire day without words. A marriage is strained by the sudden departure of a wife's former lover during a snowstorm.


These stories, compressed and richly evocative, depict the relationships between men and women in youth, middle age, and old age. Most of the stories are love stories, but it is love tinged with fear, even danger. In this fiction the smallest shock can pierce the heart of intimacy, the smallest tenderness force recognition and some kind of response from a stranger.

]]> 1990 5 0 false Mon Jun 09 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 04 14:09:02 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 09 10:12:55 -0700 2008
I can't say enough about this collection of...more...]]> 21437642 128532 136348 0393322203 9780393322200 12 <![CDATA[A Relative Stranger: Stories]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826m/136348.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826s/136348.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/136348.A_Relative_Stranger_Stories 4.00 212 Jacket Description: In his earlier collections of stories, Harmony of the World and Through the Safety Net, Charles Baxter immediately established himself as a master of the form. Now, with his gift for capturing the immediate moment, Baxter gives us thirteen stories that illuminate the connections of relatives and strangers. Shock, comedy, and love combine in unexpected ways. "You can't just get a brother off the street," the narrator of the title story says, but indeed he does. A woman tries to elude her lover's voice by spending an entire day without words. A marriage is strained by the sudden departure of a wife's former lover during a snowstorm.


These stories, compressed and richly evocative, depict the relationships between men and women in youth, middle age, and old age. Most of the stories are love stories, but it is love tinged with fear, even danger. In this fiction the smallest shock can pierce the heart of intimacy, the smallest tenderness force recognition and some kind of response from a stranger.

]]> 1990 4 0 false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu May 01 21:17:43 -0700 2008 Thu May 01 21:40:05 -0700 2008 more...]]> 19580693 784130 136348 0393322203 9780393322200 12 <![CDATA[A Relative Stranger: Stories]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826m/136348.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826s/136348.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/136348.A_Relative_Stranger_Stories 4.00 212 Jacket Description: In his earlier collections of stories, Harmony of the World and Through the Safety Net, Charles Baxter immediately established himself as a master of the form. Now, with his gift for capturing the immediate moment, Baxter gives us thirteen stories that illuminate the connections of relatives and strangers. Shock, comedy, and love combine in unexpected ways. "You can't just get a brother off the street," the narrator of the title story says, but indeed he does. A woman tries to elude her lover's voice by spending an entire day without words. A marriage is strained by the sudden departure of a wife's former lover during a snowstorm.


These stories, compressed and richly evocative, depict the relationships between men and women in youth, middle age, and old age. Most of the stories are love stories, but it is love tinged with fear, even danger. In this fiction the smallest shock can pierce the heart of intimacy, the smallest tenderness force recognition and some kind of response from a stranger.

]]> 1990 3 0 false Sun Apr 06 11:39:29 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 06 11:39:29 -0700 2008 Favorite line in the book's signature story:
“I don’t like people watching me when they think they’re going to get a skeleton key to my character. I’m not ...more...]]> 11927345 231727 136348 0393322203 9780393322200 12 <![CDATA[A Relative Stranger: Stories]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826m/136348.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826s/136348.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/136348.A_Relative_Stranger_Stories 4.00 212 Jacket Description: In his earlier collections of stories, Harmony of the World and Through the Safety Net, Charles Baxter immediately established himself as a master of the form. Now, with his gift for capturing the immediate moment, Baxter gives us thirteen stories that illuminate the connections of relatives and strangers. Shock, comedy, and love combine in unexpected ways. "You can't just get a brother off the street," the narrator of the title story says, but indeed he does. A woman tries to elude her lover's voice by spending an entire day without words. A marriage is strained by the sudden departure of a wife's former lover during a snowstorm.


These stories, compressed and richly evocative, depict the relationships between men and women in youth, middle age, and old age. Most of the stories are love stories, but it is love tinged with fear, even danger. In this fiction the smallest shock can pierce the heart of intimacy, the smallest tenderness force recognition and some kind of response from a stranger.

]]> 1990 4 0 false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 07 18:51:57 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 24 13:11:34 -0800 2008
A beautiful book of short stories. A quick read because the stories are so well-written and interesting. I re-read a few of the essays because they were that lovely! Plus, some of the essays are set in ...more...]]> 48461944 1899600 136348 0393322203 9780393322200 12 <![CDATA[A Relative Stranger: Stories]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826m/136348.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826s/136348.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/136348.A_Relative_Stranger_Stories 4.00 212 Jacket Description: In his earlier collections of stories, Harmony of the World and Through the Safety Net, Charles Baxter immediately established himself as a master of the form. Now, with his gift for capturing the immediate moment, Baxter gives us thirteen stories that illuminate the connections of relatives and strangers. Shock, comedy, and love combine in unexpected ways. "You can't just get a brother off the street," the narrator of the title story says, but indeed he does. A woman tries to elude her lover's voice by spending an entire day without words. A marriage is strained by the sudden departure of a wife's former lover during a snowstorm.


These stories, compressed and richly evocative, depict the relationships between men and women in youth, middle age, and old age. Most of the stories are love stories, but it is love tinged with fear, even danger. In this fiction the smallest shock can pierce the heart of intimacy, the smallest tenderness force recognition and some kind of response from a stranger.

]]> 1990 5 0 false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 06 17:12:04 -0800 2009 Mon Apr 06 08:15:16 -0700 2009 23983674 176566 1967650 0140156283 9780140156287 2 <![CDATA[A Relative Stranger]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1191027440m/1967650.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1191027440s/1967650.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1967650.A_Relative_Stranger 4.00 212 Jacket Description: In his earlier collections of stories, Harmony of the World and Through the Safety Net, Charles Baxter immediately established himself as a master of the form. Now, with his gift for capturing the immediate moment, Baxter gives us thirteen stories that illuminate the connections of relatives and strangers. Shock, comedy, and love combine in unexpected ways. "You can't just get a brother off the street," the narrator of the title story says, but indeed he does. A woman tries to elude her lover's voice by spending an entire day without words. A marriage is strained by the sudden departure of a wife's former lover during a snowstorm.


These stories, compressed and richly evocative, depict the relationships between men and women in youth, middle age, and old age. Most of the stories are love stories, but it is love tinged with fear, even danger. In this fiction the smallest shock can pierce the heart of intimacy, the smallest tenderness force recognition and some kind of response from a stranger.

]]> 1990 4 0 false Sun Jun 08 08:28:38 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 30 16:20:55 -0700 2008
intrigued? there are several folks who had time to give this a proper review -- go to the book page. :)]]> 970261 26064 136348 0393322203 9780393322200 12 <![CDATA[A Relative Stranger: Stories]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826m/136348.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826s/136348.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/136348.A_Relative_Stranger_Stories 4.00 212 Jacket Description: In his earlier collections of stories, Harmony of the World and Through the Safety Net, Charles Baxter immediately established himself as a master of the form. Now, with his gift for capturing the immediate moment, Baxter gives us thirteen stories that illuminate the connections of relatives and strangers. Shock, comedy, and love combine in unexpected ways. "You can't just get a brother off the street," the narrator of the title story says, but indeed he does. A woman tries to elude her lover's voice by spending an entire day without words. A marriage is strained by the sudden departure of a wife's former lover during a snowstorm.


These stories, compressed and richly evocative, depict the relationships between men and women in youth, middle age, and old age. Most of the stories are love stories, but it is love tinged with fear, even danger. In this fiction the smallest shock can pierce the heart of intimacy, the smallest tenderness force recognition and some kind of response from a stranger.

]]> 1990 4 0 false Tue May 01 11:00:43 -0700 2007 Wed Dec 16 18:43:23 -0800 2009 52290029 1681749 136348 0393322203 9780393322200 12 <![CDATA[A Relative Stranger: Stories]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826m/136348.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826s/136348.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/136348.A_Relative_Stranger_Stories 4.00 212 Jacket Description: In his earlier collections of stories, Harmony of the World and Through the Safety Net, Charles Baxter immediately established himself as a master of the form. Now, with his gift for capturing the immediate moment, Baxter gives us thirteen stories that illuminate the connections of relatives and strangers. Shock, comedy, and love combine in unexpected ways. "You can't just get a brother off the street," the narrator of the title story says, but indeed he does. A woman tries to elude her lover's voice by spending an entire day without words. A marriage is strained by the sudden departure of a wife's former lover during a snowstorm.


These stories, compressed and richly evocative, depict the relationships between men and women in youth, middle age, and old age. Most of the stories are love stories, but it is love tinged with fear, even danger. In this fiction the smallest shock can pierce the heart of intimacy, the smallest tenderness force recognition and some kind of response from a stranger.

]]> 1990 3 0 false Tue Dec 08 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Apr 11 08:26:57 -0700 2009 Wed Dec 09 05:31:26 -0800 2009 33806600 857544 136348 0393322203 9780393322200 12 <![CDATA[A Relative Stranger: Stories]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826m/136348.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826s/136348.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/136348.A_Relative_Stranger_Stories 4.00 212 Jacket Description: In his earlier collections of stories, Harmony of the World and Through the Safety Net, Charles Baxter immediately established himself as a master of the form. Now, with his gift for capturing the immediate moment, Baxter gives us thirteen stories that illuminate the connections of relatives and strangers. Shock, comedy, and love combine in unexpected ways. "You can't just get a brother off the street," the narrator of the title story says, but indeed he does. A woman tries to elude her lover's voice by spending an entire day without words. A marriage is strained by the sudden departure of a wife's former lover during a snowstorm.


These stories, compressed and richly evocative, depict the relationships between men and women in youth, middle age, and old age. Most of the stories are love stories, but it is love tinged with fear, even danger. In this fiction the smallest shock can pierce the heart of intimacy, the smallest tenderness force recognition and some kind of response from a stranger.

]]> 1990 4 0 false Thu Sep 25 07:54:51 -0700 2008 Thu Sep 25 07:55:33 -0700 2008 35546931 1328229 136348 0393322203 9780393322200 12 <![CDATA[A Relative Stranger: Stories]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826m/136348.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826s/136348.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/136348.A_Relative_Stranger_Stories 4.00 212 Jacket Description: In his earlier collections of stories, Harmony of the World and Through the Safety Net, Charles Baxter immediately established himself as a master of the form. Now, with his gift for capturing the immediate moment, Baxter gives us thirteen stories that illuminate the connections of relatives and strangers. Shock, comedy, and love combine in unexpected ways. "You can't just get a brother off the street," the narrator of the title story says, but indeed he does. A woman tries to elude her lover's voice by spending an entire day without words. A marriage is strained by the sudden departure of a wife's former lover during a snowstorm.


These stories, compressed and richly evocative, depict the relationships between men and women in youth, middle age, and old age. Most of the stories are love stories, but it is love tinged with fear, even danger. In this fiction the smallest shock can pierce the heart of intimacy, the smallest tenderness force recognition and some kind of response from a stranger.

]]> 1990 5 0 false Fri Aug 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Oct 17 08:34:36 -0700 2008 Fri Oct 17 08:35:38 -0700 2008 24350130 1184258 136348 0393322203 9780393322200 12 <![CDATA[A Relative Stranger: Stories]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826m/136348.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826s/136348.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/136348.A_Relative_Stranger_Stories 4.00 212 Jacket Description: In his earlier collections of stories, Harmony of the World and Through the Safety Net, Charles Baxter immediately established himself as a master of the form. Now, with his gift for capturing the immediate moment, Baxter gives us thirteen stories that illuminate the connections of relatives and strangers. Shock, comedy, and love combine in unexpected ways. "You can't just get a brother off the street," the narrator of the title story says, but indeed he does. A woman tries to elude her lover's voice by spending an entire day without words. A marriage is strained by the sudden departure of a wife's former lover during a snowstorm.


These stories, compressed and richly evocative, depict the relationships between men and women in youth, middle age, and old age. Most of the stories are love stories, but it is love tinged with fear, even danger. In this fiction the smallest shock can pierce the heart of intimacy, the smallest tenderness force recognition and some kind of response from a stranger.

]]> 1990 4 0 false Thu Jun 12 14:13:56 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 12 14:14:45 -0700 2008 81715345 1492096 136348 0393322203 9780393322200 12 <![CDATA[A Relative Stranger: Stories]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826m/136348.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826s/136348.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/136348.A_Relative_Stranger_Stories 4.00 212 Jacket Description: In his earlier collections of stories, Harmony of the World and Through the Safety Net, Charles Baxter immediately established himself as a master of the form. Now, with his gift for capturing the immediate moment, Baxter gives us thirteen stories that illuminate the connections of relatives and strangers. Shock, comedy, and love combine in unexpected ways. "You can't just get a brother off the street," the narrator of the title story says, but indeed he does. A woman tries to elude her lover's voice by spending an entire day without words. A marriage is strained by the sudden departure of a wife's former lover during a snowstorm.


These stories, compressed and richly evocative, depict the relationships between men and women in youth, middle age, and old age. Most of the stories are love stories, but it is love tinged with fear, even danger. In this fiction the smallest shock can pierce the heart of intimacy, the smallest tenderness force recognition and some kind of response from a stranger.

]]> 1990 0 0 false Mon Dec 21 20:22:14 -0800 2009 Mon Dec 21 20:22:14 -0800 2009 81566149 3060576 136348 0393322203 9780393322200 12 <![CDATA[A Relative Stranger: Stories]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826m/136348.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826s/136348.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/136348.A_Relative_Stranger_Stories 4.00 212 Jacket Description: In his earlier collections of stories, Harmony of the World and Through the Safety Net, Charles Baxter immediately established himself as a master of the form. Now, with his gift for capturing the immediate moment, Baxter gives us thirteen stories that illuminate the connections of relatives and strangers. Shock, comedy, and love combine in unexpected ways. "You can't just get a brother off the street," the narrator of the title story says, but indeed he does. A woman tries to elude her lover's voice by spending an entire day without words. A marriage is strained by the sudden departure of a wife's former lover during a snowstorm.


These stories, compressed and richly evocative, depict the relationships between men and women in youth, middle age, and old age. Most of the stories are love stories, but it is love tinged with fear, even danger. In this fiction the smallest shock can pierce the heart of intimacy, the smallest tenderness force recognition and some kind of response from a stranger.

]]> 1990 5 0 false Sun Dec 20 09:55:24 -0800 2009 Sun Dec 20 09:55:24 -0800 2009 81051977 2997333 5087238 0393028674 9780393028676 0 <![CDATA[A Relative Stranger: Stories]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1261032681m/5087238.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1261032681s/5087238.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5087238.A_Relative_Stranger_Stories 0.0 0 Jacket Description: In his earlier collections of stories, Harmony of the World and Through the Safety Net, Charles Baxter immediately established himself as a master of the form. Now, with his gift for capturing the immediate moment, Baxter gives us thirteen stories that illuminate the connections of relatives and strangers. Shock, comedy, and love combine in unexpected ways. "You can't just get a brother off the street," the narrator of the title story says, but indeed he does. A woman tries to elude her lover's voice by spending an entire day without words. A marriage is strained by the sudden departure of a wife's former lover during a snowstorm.


These stories, compressed and richly evocative, depict the relationships between men and women in youth, middle age, and old age. Most of the stories are love stories, but it is love tinged with fear, even danger. In this fiction the smallest shock can pierce the heart of intimacy, the smallest tenderness force recognition and some kind of response from a stranger.

]]> 1990 0 0 false Mon Dec 14 22:08:20 -0800 2009 Mon Dec 14 22:08:35 -0800 2009 80627118 3031589 136348 0393322203 9780393322200 12 <![CDATA[A Relative Stranger: Stories]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826m/136348.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826s/136348.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/136348.A_Relative_Stranger_Stories 4.00 212 Jacket Description: In his earlier collections of stories, Harmony of the World and Through the Safety Net, Charles Baxter immediately established himself as a master of the form. Now, with his gift for capturing the immediate moment, Baxter gives us thirteen stories that illuminate the connections of relatives and strangers. Shock, comedy, and love combine in unexpected ways. "You can't just get a brother off the street," the narrator of the title story says, but indeed he does. A woman tries to elude her lover's voice by spending an entire day without words. A marriage is strained by the sudden departure of a wife's former lover during a snowstorm.


These stories, compressed and richly evocative, depict the relationships between men and women in youth, middle age, and old age. Most of the stories are love stories, but it is love tinged with fear, even danger. In this fiction the smallest shock can pierce the heart of intimacy, the smallest tenderness force recognition and some kind of response from a stranger.

]]> 1990 0 0 false Thu Dec 10 22:07:46 -0800 2009 Thu Dec 10 22:07:46 -0800 2009 79613000 1997816 136348 0393322203 9780393322200 12 <![CDATA[A Relative Stranger: Stories]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826m/136348.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826s/136348.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/136348.A_Relative_Stranger_Stories 4.00 212 Jacket Description: In his earlier collections of stories, Harmony of the World and Through the Safety Net, Charles Baxter immediately established himself as a master of the form. Now, with his gift for capturing the immediate moment, Baxter gives us thirteen stories that illuminate the connections of relatives and strangers. Shock, comedy, and love combine in unexpected ways. "You can't just get a brother off the street," the narrator of the title story says, but indeed he does. A woman tries to elude her lover's voice by spending an entire day without words. A marriage is strained by the sudden departure of a wife's former lover during a snowstorm.


These stories, compressed and richly evocative, depict the relationships between men and women in youth, middle age, and old age. Most of the stories are love stories, but it is love tinged with fear, even danger. In this fiction the smallest shock can pierce the heart of intimacy, the smallest tenderness force recognition and some kind of response from a stranger.

]]> 1990 4 0 false Tue Dec 01 23:18:10 -0800 2009 Tue Dec 01 23:18:10 -0800 2009 77171648 2924496 136348 0393322203 9780393322200 12 <![CDATA[A Relative Stranger: Stories]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826m/136348.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172080826s/136348.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/136348.A_Relative_Stranger_Stories 4.00 212 Jacket Description: In his earlier collections of stories, Harmony of the World and Through the Safety Net, Charles Baxter immediately established himself as a master of the form. Now, with his gift for capturing the immediate moment, Baxter gives us thirteen stories that illuminate the connections of relatives and strangers. Shock, comedy, and love combine in unexpected ways. "You can't just get a brother off the street," the narrator of the title story says, but indeed he does. A woman tries to elude her lover's voice by spending an entire day without words. A marriage is strained by the sudden departure of a wife's former lover during a snowstorm.


These stories, compressed and richly evocative, depict the relationships between men and women in youth, middle age, and old age. Most of the stories are love stories, but it is love tinged with fear, even danger. In this fiction the smallest shock can pierce the heart of intimacy, the smallest tenderness force recognition and some kind of response from a stranger.

]]> 1990 4 0 false Sun Nov 08 21:21:11 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 08 21:21:11 -0800 2009 8 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=136348