Robert Boswell

A rigorous examination of the workings of fiction by the novelist Robert Boswell, "one of America's finest writers" (Tom Perrotta) Robert Boswell has been writing, reading, and teaching literature for more than twenty years. In this sparkling collection of essays, he brings this vast experience and a keen critical eye to bear on craft issues facing literary writers. Examples from masters such as Leo Tolstoy, Flannery O'Connor, and Alice Munro illustrate this engaging discussion of what makes great writing. At the same time, Boswell moves readers beyond the classroom, candidly sharing the experiences that have shaped his own writing life. A chance encounter in a hotel bar leads to a fascinating glimpse into his imaginative process. And through the story of a boyhood adventure, Boswell details how important it is for writers to give themselves over to what he calls the "half-known world" of fiction, where surprise and meaning converge.

On Writing Fiction

The Half-Known World

Joan Frank

Douglas Trevor

Federico Falco

Bill Roorbach

Alexandra Marshall

Ted Kehoe

Andria Nacina Cole

Patricia Buddenhagen

Ploughshares Omnibus Volume 4

A Novel

Century's Son

Robert Boswell's first novel since Century's Son showcases once again his "dazzling technical skill, intelligence and moral seriousness" (The New York Times Book Review) *A Library Journal "Best Indie Fiction of 2013" * At age thirty-three, James Candler seems to be well on the road to success. He's in line for a big promotion at Onyx Springs, the treatment facility where he's a therapist. He has a fiancée, a sizable house, and a Porsche. But . . . he's falling in love with another woman, he's underwater on his mortgage, and he's put his hapless best friend in charge of his signature therapeutic program. Even the GPS on his car can't seem to predict where he should turn next. And his clients are struggling in their own hilarious, heartbreaking ways to keep their lives on track. How can he help them if he can't help himself? In Tumbledown, Robert Boswell presents a large, unforgettable cast of characters who are all failing and succeeding in various degrees to make sense of our often-irrational world. In a moving narrative twist, he boldly reckons with the extent to which tragedy can be undone, the impossible accommodated.

Tumbledown

David Schweidel

In 1937, Doc Noss--part-adventurer, part-conman--discovered fabulous treasure inside the caverns of New Mexico's Victorio Peak. He dynamited the tunnel to hide the treasure from other treasure hunters. At least that's what he said happened. Decades later his grandson decides to find that treasure. He found money and support to follow his dream and overcome many obstacles--bad weather, broken equipment, the Army, and Congress. But Victorio Peak would not give up its treasure.

The Search for Gold at Victorio Peak

What Men Call Treasure

A rigorous volume of essays considers the craft issues facing literary writers today, evaluating the works of such masters as Leo Tolstoy, Flannery O'Connor, and Alice Munro while exploring the personal experiences that have shaped the author's own writing life. Original.

A collection of short stories, the theme of which are families. In "Grief," parents watch as a young man who killed their daughter in a car accident starts dating their second daughter. In "The Good Man," an alcoholic husband who stops drinking after his family leaves him finds abstinence is even harder to bear.

Stories

Living to be a Hundred

Crooked Hearts

Robert Boswell's extraordinary range grips us at full tilt in this crackling new collection. Set mainly in small, gritty American cities, each of these stories is a world unto itself. When two marriages end, one by death, the other divorce, the two wives, lifelong friends, become strangers to one another. A young man's obsession with visiting a fortune-teller leaves him nearly homeless. And in the unforgettable title story, a man recounts the summer he spent on a mountain with a loose band of slackers, living in a borrowed house, abstaining from all drugs (other than mushrooms and beer) - and ultimately asking just what kind of harm we can do to one another. Boswell's unexpectedly affecting characters and exuberant prose make The Heyday of the Insensitive Bastards a book to celebrate.

Stories: Easyread Super Large 20pt Edition

The Heyday of the Insensitive Bastards

American Owned Love

The Book of Psalms, in Metre; from the Original, Compared with Many Versions, in Different Languages

Robert Boswell

Books

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