Amazon.com
Breathe a sigh of relief at the appearance of Stacey Richter, a hip, pop culture-obsessed fiction writer who actually knows what she's doing. A lot of "buzz" surrounds her first collection, My Date with Satan, and she was hailed by the Voice Literary Supplement as a "writer on the verge," but Richter is much more than the flavor of the month. Her prose bristles with humor and sadness, and her characters are true originals: an ex Teen Idol ("The Ocean"), a member of a Swedish heavy-metal band ("Goal 666"), a girl who desperately wants to be a Cat Lady ("Rats Eat Cats"). In this last story the 21-year-old narrator can't wait to get old in an apartment overtaken by felines:
I would constantly wear the same sweater, and maybe a synthetic wig. I'd have several litter boxes in my apartment, and this litter would be changed infrequently. I would receive either welfare or social security and spent most (if not all) of these public moneys on cat food.... Cat hair would be embedded in my sweater. It would almost appear that my sweater was made of cat hair.Richter's characters are often pathetic or blind to themselves, but the author never condescends; writing solely in first person, she masterfully captures the private logic and language of her narrators. They are like messengers from an overlooked world, telling us stories we somehow need to know. In this way Richter reminds me of Eudora Welty, who also invested small, outcast characters with poetry, humor, grace. My Date with Satan establishes Richter as a talent to be reckoned with. She writes like a discoverer who has found the country she's been looking for. --Emily White --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
From Publishers Weekly
MTV-generation readers will see some of their favorite targetsAfallen celebrities, chat room junkies, privileged teensAlampooned in this energetic debut collection. Richter's 13 tales rambunctiously combine irony and sex, black humor and piercing glibness. "The Beauty Treatment," the collection's strongest story, delivers a convincing look into the minds of overindulged kids, though its cavalier treatment of teenage violence loses some humor in the wake of recent school shootings. Another charismatic first-person voice drives "The Island of Boyfriends," in which a suburban teenager finds herself shipwrecked among primitive hunks. "Goal 666" offers a witty portrait of a group of would-be heavy metal rockers, who despite their satanic trappings demonstrate a simple desire to croon sentimental love songs and bliss out. Other pieces aren't as spry; the title story concerns two chat room rough-sex partners who attempt some real-life interaction. The revelation that people talk tougher in cyberspace than in person holds little surprise. Similarly, "A Groupie, a Rock Star" covers some familiar territory exploring the life of a washed-up teen idol and his stalker/lover. The stories yield many compelling linesAthough at times these hooks delight more in isolation than in developing character. Richter's voice holds promise and wit, and this book is likely to attract an appreciative audience among the younger generation of hipsters looking for a fresh spin on cynical sensibilities. (July) FYI: "The Beauty Treatment" won a Pushcart Prize in 1998. Other stories in this book are forthcoming in GQ, Granta and Seventeen.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
