false 4140 6 From the #1 bestselling author of <I>Me Talk Pretty One Day</I> and <I>Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim</I> comes a collection of the short stories David Sedaris loves most. Containing the work of both contemporary and classic writers, <I><B>CHILDREN PLAYING BEFORE A STATUE OF HERCULES,</B></I> edited and introduced by Sedaris, gives his legions of fans a glimpse at the writing he finds inspiring - and helps them discover the truth about loneliness, hope, love, betrayal, and certain, but not all, monkeys. <P>David Sedaris fell in love with short stories while living in Odell, Oregon. Sedaris writes, "When apple-picking season ended, I got a job in a packing plant and gravitated toward short stories, which I could read during my break and reflect upon for the remainder of my shift. A good one would take me out of myself and stuff me back in, outsized, now, and uneasy with the fit." Featuring such notable writers as Alice Munro, Tobias Wolff, Lorrie Moore, and Joyce Carol Oates, readers will reconnect with classics, as well discover fantastic but lesser-known writers. <P>Included in <I><B>CHILDREN PLAYING BEFORE A STATUE OF HERCULES</B></I> are: Introduction by David Sedaris "Oh, Joseph, I'm So Tired" by Richard Yates "Gryphon" by Charles Baxter "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri "The Garden Party" by Katherine Mansfield "Half A Grapefruit" by Alice Munro "Applause, Applause" by Jean Thompson "I Know What I'm Doing About All the Attention I've Been Getting" by Frank Gannon "Where the Door Is Always Open and the Welcome Mat Is Out" by Patricia Highsmith "The Best of Betty" by Jincy Willett "Song of the Shirt, 1941" by Dorothy Parker "The Girl with the Blackened Eye" by Joyce Carol Oates "People Like That Are the Only People Here: Canonical Babbling in Peed Onk" by Lorrie Moore "Revelation" by Flannery O'Connor "In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried" by Amy Hempel "Cosmopolitan" by Akhil Sharma "Irish Girl" by Tim Johnston "Bullet in the Brain" by Tobias Wolff Epilogue by Sarah Vowell <P>Borrowing the book's name from an Adriaen van der Werff painting, <I><B>CHILDREN PLAYING BEFORE A STATUE OF HERCULES</B></I> is David Sedaris's attempt to share his passion for short stories with a wider audience-and his enthusiasm is contagious. "The authors in this book are huge to me, and I am a comparative midget, scratching around in their collective shadow. 'Pint sized Fanatic Bowing Before Statues of Hercules' might have been more concise, but people don't paint things like that, and besides, it doesn't sound as good." <P>David Sedaris is publishing this book to support 826NYC, a nonprofit tutoring center in Brooklyn, New York. All of his proceeds, after permission expenses, from <I><B>CHILDREN PLAYING BEFORE A STATUE OF HERCULES</B></I> will benefit this organization designed to help students ages six to eighteen develop their writing skills through free writing workshops, publishing projects, and one-on-one help with homework and English-language learning. In the book's epilogue, Sarah Vowell describes the fine work done by 826NYC.<P> 726 1 8 2005 Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules total:1879|5:336|4:711|3:625|2:175|1:32| 1879 6781 3285 201 5 2 false false Wed Mar 19 13:21:57 -0700 2008 Thu Mar 20 16:16:14 -0700 2008
The thing about this collection...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 29 22:29:49 -0700 2008 Sat Dec 06 08:58:19 -0800 2008
Overall I really enjoyed the book, but there's n...more...]]> 3 1 false false Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Wed Sep 05 07:48:29 -0700 2007 Wed Sep 05 10:50:52 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Thu Jun 21 17:15:58 -0700 2007 Tue Feb 19 04:12:18 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Feb 26 07:31:58 -0800 2008 Wed Apr 09 06:56:56 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 1 false false Sun Apr 15 18:26:26 -0700 2007 Mon May 21 21:32:28 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Feb 12 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 10 06:19:55 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 12 11:10:53 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Fri Feb 27 17:02:20 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 18 10:03:43 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 27 17:02:20 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Nov 12 15:28:17 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 11 01:11:17 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 12 15:28:17 -0800 2008 2 0 false false Fri Jan 09 01:45:24 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 09 01:49:09 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Oct 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 19 11:50:11 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 19 12:04:07 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Jan 12 05:56:39 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 12 06:09:34 -0800 2009 Although the proceeds go to 826nyc, and that is good, the book itself is a waste of time.
The stories within are either ones I have read many times before (i.e."Revelation" Flannery O'Connor*) or are stories that made my eyes contort f...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Sep 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 23 14:24:05 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 27 13:16:29 -0700 2009 Richard Yates: good, depressing
Charles ...more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Dec 05 09:45:17 -0800 2007 Wed Dec 05 17:35:39 -0800 2007
Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules is a Sedaris-edited short story ...more...]]> 2 0 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 06 11:10:08 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 06 11:10:08 -0800 2009
The sad thing is that the best essay in the entire book is...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue May 27 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue May 27 13:10:25 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 16 10:00:31 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jun 08 12:07:39 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 08 12:10:13 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed May 24 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Sat Aug 30 19:06:40 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 30 19:07:03 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Jul 26 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 15 20:28:53 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 30 21:02:49 -0700 2008
"...more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Mar 05 09:31:16 -0800 2009 Thu Mar 05 09:34:42 -0800 2009 more...]]>