What do you think?
Rate this book
Sleeping Mask: Fictions
“LaSalle’s [stories] transcend their particulars to show people with dreams, dilemmas, and disappointments that will move any reader.” — Jhumpa Lahiri, Harvard Review
“Haunting and evocative. . . . LaSalle’s prose is lyrical, at times rhapsodic, and his characters memorable.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
The twelve stories of Sleeping Mask , written in propulsive, fluid prose, introduce readers to remarkable characters. They include a child soldier sent to raid a girls’ boarding school, a Virginia Woolf scholar surviving cancer, a desperate writer living under fascism in a futuristic Latin America, the spirits of recently deceased college students on a tour of the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, and a middle-aged man transported back to his childhood, where he is led out to sea by his mother’s ghost.
LaSalle’s tantalizing “fictions” are evocative of many of the great innovators of postmodern literature, from Borges to Nabokov, while charting a path entirely their own. Through all of their stylistic pyrotechnics these stories never forsake rich characterization and plotting to probe the deepest parts of the contemporary human condition, such as the nature of erotic desire, the legacy of art and artistry, the power of grief and fear, and the horror of war and violence.
Peter LaSalle is the author of several books of fiction, including the story collections Tell Borges If You See Him , recipient of he Flannery O’Connor Award, and What I Found Out About Her , winner of the Richard Sullivan Prize in Short Fiction. He lives in Austin, Texas, where he is a member of the creative writing faculty at the University of Texas, and Narragansett, in his native Rhode Island.
“Haunting and evocative. . . . LaSalle’s prose is lyrical, at times rhapsodic, and his characters memorable.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
The twelve stories of Sleeping Mask , written in propulsive, fluid prose, introduce readers to remarkable characters. They include a child soldier sent to raid a girls’ boarding school, a Virginia Woolf scholar surviving cancer, a desperate writer living under fascism in a futuristic Latin America, the spirits of recently deceased college students on a tour of the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, and a middle-aged man transported back to his childhood, where he is led out to sea by his mother’s ghost.
LaSalle’s tantalizing “fictions” are evocative of many of the great innovators of postmodern literature, from Borges to Nabokov, while charting a path entirely their own. Through all of their stylistic pyrotechnics these stories never forsake rich characterization and plotting to probe the deepest parts of the contemporary human condition, such as the nature of erotic desire, the legacy of art and artistry, the power of grief and fear, and the horror of war and violence.
Peter LaSalle is the author of several books of fiction, including the story collections Tell Borges If You See Him , recipient of he Flannery O’Connor Award, and What I Found Out About Her , winner of the Richard Sullivan Prize in Short Fiction. He lives in Austin, Texas, where he is a member of the creative writing faculty at the University of Texas, and Narragansett, in his native Rhode Island.
- GenresShort Stories
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 10, 2017
2 people are currently reading
39 people want to read
About the author
Peter LaSalle
19 books11 followersLaSalle graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in 1969, and the University of Chicago with an M.A. in 1972.
His fiction has appeared in magazines and journals such as AGNI, Antioch Review, Paris Review, Tin House, New England Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, Yale Review, Zoetrope: All-Story, and others. His essays, articles, and book reviews have appeared in The Nation, The Progressive, Worldview, Commonweal, The New York Times Book Review, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Los Angeles Times, and others. His work has been included in over 20 anthologies.
He has been teaching at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is a resident faculty member at the Michener Center for Writers, since 1980, and has held the title of Susan Taylor McDaniel Regents Professor in Creative Writing in the Department of English since 2001. Before that, he taught at Johnson State College in Vermont (1974-76), Iowa State University (1977-80), and was a visiting faculty member with Harvard University Summer School from 1985-1997.
His awards include the Flannery O'Connor Award for Tell Borges If You See Him, the Richard Sullivan Prize in Short Fiction for What I Found Out About Her, the
The Antioch Review Award for Distinguished Prose, an O. Henry Award (1991), and a National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship.
His fiction has appeared in magazines and journals such as AGNI, Antioch Review, Paris Review, Tin House, New England Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, Yale Review, Zoetrope: All-Story, and others. His essays, articles, and book reviews have appeared in The Nation, The Progressive, Worldview, Commonweal, The New York Times Book Review, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Los Angeles Times, and others. His work has been included in over 20 anthologies.
He has been teaching at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is a resident faculty member at the Michener Center for Writers, since 1980, and has held the title of Susan Taylor McDaniel Regents Professor in Creative Writing in the Department of English since 2001. Before that, he taught at Johnson State College in Vermont (1974-76), Iowa State University (1977-80), and was a visiting faculty member with Harvard University Summer School from 1985-1997.
His awards include the Flannery O'Connor Award for Tell Borges If You See Him, the Richard Sullivan Prize in Short Fiction for What I Found Out About Her, the
The Antioch Review Award for Distinguished Prose, an O. Henry Award (1991), and a National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
Read
June 10, 2024Definitely an uneven collection, but when it sings it sings. While LaSalle is not exactly an American Borges, as some interlocutors are wont to speculate, he does drop into that creepy wavelength from time to time. I still think this is worth reading, but I’m much more curious to read LaSalle’s longer-form work – something tells me that his ideas and concepts would be more transcendent over a few hundred pages, with some space to echo around in.
March 12, 2023
Reading this was like listening to someone else's conversation at party.
November 28, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed much of this book; with twelve short stories, it was a relatively fast read, and there were just a couple clunkers in there. Rating a book of short stories, it's hard to rate the whole thing overall, especially since the last few stories you read have a more prevalent cloud over your opinion. So, I rated each story as I went!
Sleeping Mask
1 star
Boys: A New African Fable
4 stars
E.A.P: A Note
2 stars
The Flight
4.5 stars
Lunch Across the Bridge
4 stars
The Absent Painter
5 stars
Southern Majestic Zone
4.5 stars
A Short Manual of Mirrors
4.5 stars
Found Fragment from the Report on the Cadaver Dogs of Northern Maine, 1962
5 stars
What Can't Not Happen
3.5 stars
A Late Afternoon Swim
2 stars
The first "story" is just garbage. I don't know why it's included, why it introduces the rest of the stories, or why the book is given the same name. I'm going to do the author a favor and just pretend it doesn't exist. All of the stories that I rated 4 stars or higher, I thought were really great. My favorite was easily "The Absent Painter." Most short story collections I never return to, but this is one that I bet I'll pick up again.
**I received a free advance reader copy of this book in exchange for this unbiased review.**
Sleeping Mask
1 star
Boys: A New African Fable
4 stars
E.A.P: A Note
2 stars
The Flight
4.5 stars
Lunch Across the Bridge
4 stars
The Absent Painter
5 stars
Southern Majestic Zone
4.5 stars
A Short Manual of Mirrors
4.5 stars
Found Fragment from the Report on the Cadaver Dogs of Northern Maine, 1962
5 stars
What Can't Not Happen
3.5 stars
A Late Afternoon Swim
2 stars
The first "story" is just garbage. I don't know why it's included, why it introduces the rest of the stories, or why the book is given the same name. I'm going to do the author a favor and just pretend it doesn't exist. All of the stories that I rated 4 stars or higher, I thought were really great. My favorite was easily "The Absent Painter." Most short story collections I never return to, but this is one that I bet I'll pick up again.
**I received a free advance reader copy of this book in exchange for this unbiased review.**
November 24, 2016
Sleeping Mask: Fictions by Peter LaSalle
This book contains twelve short (fiction) stories. Each story is written with vivid detail, pulling you in an not letting go. Each powerful, emotionally compelling tale, has memorable characters, and intense themes, it is hard to put down. Sleeping Mask: Fictions is like none I have ever read before. Peter LaSalles' writing style is unique and captivating. I highly recommend to those who love a great read!
Titles of stories:
Sleeping Mask
Boys: A New African Fable
E.A.P.: A Note
A Day in the Life of Illness
The Flight
Lunch Across the Bridge
The Absent Painter
Southern Majestic Zone
A Short Manual of Mirrors
Found Fragments from the Report on the Cadaver Dogs of Northern Maine
What Can't Happen
A Late Afternoon Swim
*I received this book from LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review.
This book contains twelve short (fiction) stories. Each story is written with vivid detail, pulling you in an not letting go. Each powerful, emotionally compelling tale, has memorable characters, and intense themes, it is hard to put down. Sleeping Mask: Fictions is like none I have ever read before. Peter LaSalles' writing style is unique and captivating. I highly recommend to those who love a great read!
Titles of stories:
Sleeping Mask
Boys: A New African Fable
E.A.P.: A Note
A Day in the Life of Illness
The Flight
Lunch Across the Bridge
The Absent Painter
Southern Majestic Zone
A Short Manual of Mirrors
Found Fragments from the Report on the Cadaver Dogs of Northern Maine
What Can't Happen
A Late Afternoon Swim
*I received this book from LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review.
March 28, 2017
An excellent, well-written collection by a master of the short story. Enchanting prose. Includes a child soldier sent to raid a girls' boarding school, a Virginia Woolf scholar surviving cancer, a desperate writer living under fascism in a futuristic Latin America, the spirits of recently deceased college students on a tour of the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, and a middle-aged writer transported back to his childhood on the beach with his mother. A lot of themes about fiction and reality, writing and life and the human condition. I highly recommend this book.
April 30, 2017
Despite the KIrkus review this book did not appeal to me: I graduated from college a long time ago and I found this book to be very pretentious in its prose and too obvious in its attempt to be 'literary". For my reading enjoyment. just give me a story!
I don't want to have to work at understanding it.
I don't want to have to work at understanding it.
Read
July 28, 2017Kirkus
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews