false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169310739m/39747.jpg 39747 2 Mixing the mundane with the metaphysical, the pairings of the everyday and the extraordinary in this collection of short fiction yield supernatural results—a young musician perceives another world while drinking coffee, a fairy chronicles his busy life in a sandcastle during the changing tide, a demonic 16th-century chess set shows up in a New Jersey bar, and Charon, the boatman of hell, takes a few days vacation. Storylines both conventional and outlandish reveal humdrum routines as menacing, or imaginary worlds as perfectly familiar. Allusions to authors such as Edgar Allan Poe and Jules Verne reinforce the fantasy tradition in these tales, while understated humor and moments of sadness add a quirky unpredictability. Also included is the previously unpublished novella, "Botch Town," a coming-of-age story about a boy on Long Island whose family and friends live ordinary lives under threats both real and imagined. Each story is followed by a brief afterword that details its genesis. 39449 1 4 2006 The Empire of Ice Cream total:57|5:18|4:25|3:11|2:3|1:0| 57 229 119 6 3 0 false false Thu Jul 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 18 08:08:29 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 18 08:11:19 -0700 2009
I read “The Girl in the Glass,” a novel by Ford, several months ago. It was good, but not blow-your-mind. So, I had taken his other books off my wishlist. However, someone had already picked up a...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Tue Mar 13 11:20:04 -0700 2007 Tue Mar 13 11:26:52 -0700 2007 The Empire of Ice Cream to be a fascinating and haunting read, one of my favorite books of recent times. I don't know of any other fiction that deals so directly with synaesthesia, and if Ford doesn't have that condition himself, he sure knows how to write about it. T...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jan 17 11:18:31 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 17 11:19:34 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Feb 27 23:14:24 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 27 23:15:29 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Thu Jun 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 12 22:40:07 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 25 20:05:50 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 22 16:49:52 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 22 16:51:01 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Mon Nov 23 23:51:17 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 23 23:51:17 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Fri Nov 20 15:32:19 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 20 15:32:19 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sun Nov 15 17:04:59 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 15 17:05:07 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Wed Nov 04 12:52:30 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 04 12:52:30 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Fri Sep 18 19:45:06 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 18 19:45:06 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Sep 11 20:26:52 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 11 20:26:52 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Aug 30 18:23:12 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 30 18:23:36 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Aug 22 15:22:44 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 22 15:22:44 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Aug 17 15:07:23 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 17 15:07:23 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Aug 16 10:18:31 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 16 10:18:31 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Aug 14 15:14:34 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 14 15:14:34 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Aug 13 19:08:44 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 13 19:08:44 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Aug 05 16:55:17 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 05 16:55:17 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Jul 21 16:25:49 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 21 16:25:49 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=39747