A Kind of Flying: Selected Stories, Paperback

Contributor(s):

• Author: Ron Carlson

Ron Carlson's stories, sometimes wicked or bittersweet, often zany, are rich with a hard-earned hopefulness frequently absent in contemporary fiction. In this generous gathering from collections no longer available, longtime fans and new readers alike can savor the development of a master of idiosyncrasy.

Properly celebrated for his range, Carlson offers us a rural sheriff who's wary of UFOs ("Phenomena"), a lawyer on a mission in remote Alaska ("Blazo"), a baseball player turned killer-by-accident ("Zanduce at Second"), and a nineteen-year-old who experiences an unsettling sexual awakening during an Arizona summer ("Oxygen"). Here also is a man accusing Bigfoot of stealing his wife, followed by Bigfoot's incomparable response. Not least of the treasures is "The H Street Sledding Record," a story perfect for family holiday reading, in which a young father creates the magic of Santa by throwing manure on his roof on Christmas Eve.

This book proves Carlson's axiom that "a short story is not a single thing done a single way," and it offers us--finally--a full view of his remarkable talents.

• Kirkus Reviews - pg. 1201 - 10/01/2003
• Library Journal / Best Of The Best/Highly Recommended - pg. 94 - 09/15/2003
• Library Journal / Exceptional Presentation - pg. 94 - 09/15/2003
• Library Journal / Book Of Special Distinction - pg. 94 - 09/15/2003
• Library Journal / Top 15 Book Of The Year - pg. 94 - 09/15/2003
• Library Journal / Highly Recommended - pg. 94 - 09/15/2003
• Booklist - pg. 208 - 09/15/2003
• Publishers Weekly - pg. 58 - 10/13/2003
• Publishers Weekly - pg. 37 - 10/20/2003
• New York Times - pg. 10 - 12/28/2003
• New York Times - pg. 28 - 06/06/2004