Last Encounter with the Enemy

by Greg Johnson

Greg Johnson's latest collection of stories offers insights both subtle and startling into the workings of the human heart, from a child's-eye view of marital strife and a thoughtless betrayal of first love to the expansive reveries of complicated, conflicted adults looking ahead to new lives or back on past missteps and misfortunes. Johnson also delves into his literary roots with tales of imaginary encounters with Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickinson, and Flannery O'Connor--who, in the title story, engages in a fierce battle of wills with a precocious eleven-year-old boy. Through it all, Johnson demonstrates his gift for describing that telling detail--a sentence, a gesture, a memory--that instantly reveals a personality, as if illuminated by lightning. Praise for I Am Dangerous: A bravura literary performance. He rings a hundred changes on the emotional issues with which he deals, keeping them always interesting, always mysterious, changing and evolving before our eyes.--Pinckney Benedict, Chicago Tribune Book World sense of the term: The unique atmosphere and sensibilities of the author's native South color his prose, imbuing it with a special vitality.--Charles Solomon, Los Angeles Times Each of these stories is a prize of insight and storytelling.--Paul Malone, Dallas Morning News Johnson offers keen observations on contemporary life.--Elizabeth Ferber, New York Times Genuine and perceptive, new proof that Greg Johnson is a gifted storyteller and interpreter of the ties that bind--in every sense of the word.--Cathy High, Atlanta Journal-Constitution As always, Johnson's prose is polished, penetrating, understated ... I Am Dangerous once again confirms Johnson as an expert navigator of the human heart in all its vagaries.--Michael Upchurch, San Francisco Chronicle

224 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2004

About the author

Greg Johnson is an American short-story writer, novelist, poet, and biographer who teaches creative writing at Kennesaw State University and lives in Atlanta.