Tobias Wolff Libri

An outstanding collection of new and classic stories, from one of America's greatest living short story writers

The thirty-three stories in this volume prove that American short fiction maybe be our most distinctive national art form. As selected and introduced by Tobias Wolff, they also make up an alternate map of the United States that represents not just geography but narrative traditions, cultural heritage, and divergent approaches.

Among the characters you'll find in this collection of twelve stories by Tobias Wolff, are a teenage boy who tells morbid lies about his home life, a timid professor who, in the first genuine outburst of her life, pours out her opinions in spite of a protesting audience, a prudish loner who gives an obnoxious hitchhiker a ride, and an elderly couple on a golden anniversary cruise who endure the offensive conviviality of the ship's social director.Fondly yet sharply drawn, Wolff's characters stumble over each other in their baffled yet resolute search for the "right path."

In this collection of intricately woven stories, Tobias Wolff explores the theme of deceptive truths, beginning with a shocking incident where a man bites a dog to protect his daughter. This narrative twist sets the tone for the entire work, where familiar expectations are subverted and the complexities of human experience are laid bare. Wolff delves into the volatility of truth, highlighting how it can be elusive and often unwelcome, inviting readers to confront the darker aspects of life and the choices we make.

The follow-up to the author's memoir This Boy's Life which describes his experiences during the Vietnam War. As a young officer serving in the Mekong Delta, he ricocheted between boredom, terror and grief for lost friends. Tobias Wolff is the author of Hunters in the Snow.

In This Fish Is Fowl Xu Xi offers the transnational and feminist perspective of a contemporary “glocalized” American life. Xu’s quirky, darkly comic, and obsessively personal essays emerge from her diverse professional career as a writer, business executive, entrepreneur, and educator. From her origins in Hong Kong as an Indonesian of Chinese descent to her U.S. citizenship and multiple countries of residence, she writes her way around the globe. Caring for her mother with Alzheimer’s in Hong Kong becomes the rhythmic accompaniment to an enforced, long-term, long-distance relationship with her partner and home in New York. In between Xu reflects on all her selves, which are defined by those myriad monikers of existence. As an author who began life as a novelist and fiction writer, she also considers the nature of genre, which snakes its way through these essays. In her linguistic trip across the comic tragedy that is globalism, she wonders about the mystery of humanity and the future of our world at this complicated and precarious moment in human existence. This Fish Is Fowl is a twenty-first-century blend of the essayist traditions of both West and East. Xu’s acerbic, deft prose shows her to be a descendant of both Michel de Montaigne and Lu Xun, with influences from stepparent Jonathan Swift.

Exploring the complexities of life after war, this collection of ten stories delves into the struggles of characters seeking a semblance of normalcy. From a gentle priest encountering a frantic stranger in Vegas to a hopeful performer facing an unusual audition in a hearse, each narrative reveals the tension between reality and aspiration. Wolff masterfully captures the poignant moments of his characters, highlighting their disconnection from societal norms and the often harsh truths they face, all with a blend of lucidity and grace.

This stunning collection of 28 stories brings readers a literary portrait of the American family from 1894 to today. A collection of works that captures the essence of American families from living together and apart to loving and letting go.Regret / Kate Chopin --The lombardy poplar / Mary Wilkins Freeman --The widow's might / Charlotte Perkins Gilman --Old Rogaum and his Theresa / Theodore Dreiser --The sorrows of gin / John Cheever --I stand here ironing / Tillie Olsen --Simple and Counsin F.D. Roosevelt Brown / Langston Hughes --The sky is gray / Ernest J. Gaines --My Coney Island uncle / Harvey Swados --My son the murderer / Bernard Malamud --Final dwarf / Henry Roth --And Sarah laughed / Joanne Greenberg --Wedding day / Roberta Silman --The legacy of Beau Kremel / Stephen Wolf --Kiswana Brown / Gloria Naylor --Tuesdays / Mary Hedin --Afloat / Ann Beattie --Winterblossom garden / David Low --Old things / Bobbie Ann Mason --Starlight / Marian Thurm --The writer in the family / E.L. Doctorow --The rich brother / Tobias Wolff --My legacy / Don Zacharia --Violation / Mary Gordon --Appropriate affect / Sue Miller --What I did for love / Lynne Sharon Schwartz --Still of some use / John Updike --Elephant / Raymond Carver

Over 10 years ago, Tobias Wolff edited a collection of stories called "Matters of Life and Death" which included such writers as Jayne Anne Phillips, Raymond Carver and Richard Ford. This collection brings together 36 American stories.

This unforgettable memoir, by one of our most gifted writers, introduces us to the young Toby Wolff, by turns tough and vulnerable, crafty and bumbling, and ultimately winning. Separated by divorce from his father and brother, Toby and his mother are constantly on the move, yet they develop an extraordinarily close, almost telepathic relationship. As Toby fights for identity and self-respect against the unrelenting hostility of a new stepfather, his experiences are at once poignant and comical, and Wolff does a masterful job of re-creating the frustrations and cruelties of adolescence. His various schemes - running away to Alaska, forging checks, and stealing cars - lead eventually to an act of outrageous self-invention that releases him into a new world of possibility.

At one prestigious American public school, the boys like to emphasise their democratic ideals -the only acknowledged snobbery is literary snobbery. Once a term, a big name from the literary world visits and a contest takes place. The boys have to submit a piece of writing and the winner receives a private audience with the visitor. But then it is announced that Hemingway, the boys' hero, is coming to the school. The competition intensifies, and the morals the school and the boys pride themselves on - honour, loyalty and friendship - are crumbling under the strain. Only time will tell who will win and what it will cost them.

The Bloomsbury Birthday Quids are small editions of short stories by major writers, in a format and style of the Bloomsbury Classics. Printed on high-quality paper, designed by Jeff Fisher, the books should become collectors' items. This title is Two Boys and a Girl by Tobias Wolff.

"Jäger im Schnee" ist eine klassische Kurzgeschichte von Tobias Wolff, die in den Vororten von Spokane spielt. Die Geschichte handelt von drei Charakteren, die gemeinsam im Wald jagen: Kenny, der hart und brutal ist; Tub, der dick ist, Ziel von Spott und hinter der Gruppe zurückbleibt; und Frank, der der "ehrlichste" der Gruppe ist. Jeder Charakter hat eine ausgeprägte Persönlichkeit, die sich im Verlauf der Geschichte verändert. Der Höhepunkt der Geschichte tritt ein, als Tub Kenny in einem scheinbaren Unfall erschießt. Tub und Frank scheinen Kenny in ein Krankenhaus zu bringen, halten jedoch in einem Diner und einem Roadhouse an, was zu einer seltsamen Kette von Ereignissen führt. Die Geschichte endet damit, dass sie in eine Richtung fahren, die der des Krankenhauses entgegengesetzt ist. Diese Geschichte soll auf dem Gemälde "Jäger im Schnee" von Pieter Bruegel basieren, einem Maler, der mit der Realismusbewegung verbunden ist.

Dot Allbones war die Jüngste ihrer großen Familie aus den Midlands. Ohne Schönheit und mit wenigen Perspektiven hatte sie Glück, ein lukratives Talent zu entdecken - sie kann Menschen zum Lachen bringen. Jetzt, als Königin der Musikbühne in London, fühlt sich Dot nicht schlecht. Sie hat ihr Publikum, ihre Unabhängigkeit und genug Geld für Champagner: ein gutes Leben. Die hübsche, beliebte Waise Kate Eddowes war eine unwahrscheinliche Kindheitsfreundin für Dot. Die Schönheit des älteren Mädchens sollte sie weit bringen, und tatsächlich verließ Kate bald, verlockt von Liebe und dem Versprechen von Abenteuern. Eine zufällige Begegnung auf einer Londoner Straße Jahre später macht deutlich, dass Kates Leben nicht nach Plan verlaufen ist. Obwohl arm und allein, behält sie ihren unbezwingbaren Geist. Aber das ist Whitechapel im Jahr 1888, und die schattigen Straßen sind kein Ort für eine verzweifelte Frau... Mit ihrer unverwechselbaren Schärfe und ihrem scharfen Witz erweckt Laurie Graham die geschäftigen Freuden und die nicht so verborgenen Gefahren des Lebens in einer überfüllten Stadt mit ihren Extremen von Armut und Reichtum zum Leben. Und währenddessen lauert im Schatten die zerschmetternde Bedrohung des Rippers.

Sommer 1967: Während Boeing auf Hochtouren Bomber für den Vietnamkrieg produziert, wird vor den Kasernen gegen den Krieg demonstriert. Auch vor Fort Bragg in North Caroline, wo neue Rekruten zu Fallschirmjägern ausgebildet werden, darunter Bishop, Hubbart und Lewis. Wie so viele haben sie sich gemeldet, um der Enge der amerikanischen Provinz zu entkommen, dem Mief ihrer Elternhäuser. Die Abscheu vor dem unaufhörlichen Drill im Fort und die Panik vor den Grauen des Krieges sind das Einzige, was sie wirklich zusammenhält. Zwangsläufig mündet ihre Freundschaft - noch bevor sie eigentlich beginnt - in Entfremdung, und die Rekrutenschule wird zur Schule des Lebens.

Wieder im Bilde - Geschichten - bk1135; Rowohlt Verlag; Tobias Wolff; pocket_book; 1988

Keuze van verhalen van buitenlandse auteurs uit het fonds van de uitgeverijen Bert Bakker en Prometheus.