Follow Me Home: Short Stories

Sampul Depan
Louisiana State University Press, 1994 - 213 halaman
William Hoffman is a master storyteller, and Follow Me Home reveals him at his inimitable best. In these eleven brilliantly observed, superbly crafted stories, he explores one of the most secret places of the human heart - the corner where we keep hidden the small and precious supply of whatever it is that lets us persist, and sometimes even triumph, in the face of life's inescapable diminishments and losses. In Hoffman's characters, the content of this inner reservoir varies greatly. For the hill farmer in "Abide with Me", it is a form of direct grace granted to him in a near-death vision. For the disabled veteran in "Night Sport", it is a bitter concoction of disillusionment and raw truth carried home from a distant war. For the quietly retired minister in "Sweet Armageddon", unexpectedly given a glimpse of the life he long ago forsook, it is a prayerful wish for annihilation. On a less apocalyptic scale, in the haunting "Points", a once-great horseman finds sustenance in a remembered world of elegance and courage - a world that, like his skills, is rapidly fading. In "Dancer", a bereft and lonely woman retreats into the music of her youth, birds becoming quarter notes that fill the sky. In "Expiation", a self-made executive after many years comes to terms with his own childhood, even though it means ending the lie on which his marriage is built. And in "Coals", a maid and cook calls on her own reserves of spirit to bring her employer a renewal of life. Set in the small towns, cities, hills, and seascapes of Virginia - territory Hoffman knows as well as any writer ever has - the stories of Follow Me Home reveal to us men and women we know and care about, for in their struggles, win orlose, we recognize ourselves.

Edisi yang lain - Lihat semua

Follow Me Home: Stories
William Hoffman
Pratinjau terbatas - 1999

Tentang pengarang (1994)

Henry William Hoffman was born in Charleston, West Virginia on May 16, 1925. He attended the Kentucky Military Institute before entering the U.S. Army in September 1943. He served as a medic in the Normandy campaign and at the Battle of the Bulge during World War II. He was discharged in February 1946. He received a bachelor's degree from Hampden-Sydney College in 1949. He studied law at Washington and Lee University, but quit after the publication of his first short story in 1950. He studied at the Iowa Writers' Workshop for one year. After working in Washington, D.C., for the Evening Star newspaper and for the U.S. Department of Defense, and then in New York City for Chase National Bank, Hoffman returned to Hampden-Sydney. He taught at the college from 1952 until 1959 and was the writer-in-residence from 1966 until his retirement in 1973. He was the author of fourteen novels, four short-story collections, and two plays. His novels included The Trumpet Unblown, Days in the Yellow Leaf, The Dark Mountains, Yancey's War, Godfires, Wild Thorn, and Lies. His first collection of short stories, Virginia Reels, was published in 1978. His plays included The Love Touch and The Spirit in Me. He won the John Dos Passos Prize for Literature in 1992, the O. Henry Prize in 1996, and the Dashiell Hammett Award in 1999 for Tidewater Blood. He died on September 13, 2009 at the age of 84.

Informasi bibliografi

JudulFollow Me Home: Short Stories
PengarangWilliam Hoffman
PenerbitLouisiana State University Press, 1994
ISBN0807118354, 9780807118351
Tebal213 halaman
  
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