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Favorite Monster: Stories (Paperback)
$17.95
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Description
By all rights, these comic tales, with their cyclopses and serial killers, werewolves and writers, medusas and managers, ought to collapse into lighthearted whimsy. Instead they unfold into objects of extraordinary beauty and darkness, rendered in prose that can turn on a dime from the deadpan to the profound. Sharma Shields is a cutup, a sneak, and a badass -- she will crack you up with these charming beasts, and then, in a stage whisper, reveal who the real monster is. (Hint: it's you.) -- J. Robert Lennon
About the Author
Sharma Shields' short fiction has appeared in various literary journals around the country. Her numerous writing awards include the Tim McGinnis Award for Humor, a grant from Artist Trust and the A.B. Guthrie Award for Outstanding Prose. She holds an MFA from the University of Montana and now lives in Spokane with her husband and young son.
Praise for Favorite Monster: Stories…
Sharma Shields' Favorite Monster is a deliciously bent collection of short stories -- funny, disturbing and surprisingly profound. A wildly entertaining survey of the modern habits of the cyclops, the Sasquatch, the werewolf, and perhaps the most monstrous of all, the human -- this book is fantastic in every sense of the word. -- Jess Walter
Besides being weird, fantastic and surprising, the stories in Favorite Monster are flat-out fun. Always a halfstep ahead of the reader, Sharma Shields dares us to follow her through the twisted mazes of her dark rides, tantalizing us with just enough shocks so that when we come out the other side, we immediately want to go again. --Stewart O Nan
In this darkly funny and deeply affecting collection, Sharma Shields writes with razor-sharp prose about obsession, loneliness, desire, and guilt, the monsters we brush up against, the monsters we carry inside. The result is a wondrous and twisted journey, full of magic and mystery, beauty and betrayal, hope and heartbreak. Shields' debut is a dazzler, her voice as haunting as it is fearless. --Aryn Kyle
In Shields' beautiful debut collection, Favorite Monster, a butcher is a vehement vegetarian, a man becomes a cricket, and a woman falls for a Cyclops. The stories are as devastating as they are funny. Shields dazzles with fresh language and insight, with wit and sensitivity. Hers is an unforgettable voice. --Diana Spechler
