A Relative Stranger

by Charles Baxter

Overview

"In his quiet cosmic wonderment, Baxter is the equal of John Updike and Anne Tyler at their largest and best."—GQ

Without question Charles Baxter, whose ravishing novel The Feast of Love was a National Book Award finalist, is one of our finest contemporary writers. These two books, set in the Michigan landscape that Baxter has made his own, display his unparalleled gift for revealing the unexpected in everyday life. The often-curious connections of relatives and strangers are illuminated in the thirteen exquisite stories of A Relative Stranger. "You can't just get a brother off the street," a character says, but indeed he does.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393322200
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	09/17/2001
Pages:	236
Sales rank:	794,962
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Charles Baxter lives in Minneapolis and teaches at the University of Minnesota.

Hometown:

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Date of Birth:

May 13, 1947

Place of Birth:

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Education:

B. A., Macalester College, 1969; Ph.D., State University of New York at Buffalo, 1974

Website:

http://www.charlesbaxter.com

Table of Contents

	Fenstad's Mother	3
	Westland	19
	Prowlers	43
	A Relative Stranger	61
	Shelter	79
	Snow	99
	Silent Movie	113
	The Old Fascist in Retirement	119
	Three Parabolic Tales
1	Lake Stephen	135
2	Scissors	145
3	Scheherazade	155
	The Disappeared	161
	Saul and Patsy Are Pregnant	191

Editorial Reviews

Big, moving, rich with life and story. —New York Times Book Review

Lorrie Moore

We have the satisfaction of having been immersed in a beautifully rendered and fully imagined world. —New York Times

Michiko Kakutani

In his quiet cosmic wonderment, Baxter is the equal of John Updike and Anne Tyler at their largest and best.

GQ

Most of the protagonists in these 13 wonderfully varied, often funny stories set by Baxter ( Harmony of the World ) in Michigan are complex men reaching for answers that elude them. On the other hand their women, anchored in a simple and peaceful pragmatism, more wisely accept their mates' odd hungers and lunatic streaks. Stephen in ``Lake Stephen'' feels dissatisfied with Jan, his lover--she always seems to know in advance what he will do and say. When he importunes her to throw caution to the wind for once, she complies, but less than innocently: ``Unless she broke the rules now,'' Jan realizes, ``he would not follow the rules later.'' In ``Westland'' Warren turns in a teenage runaway and, as a result, is drawn with his family into the lives of strangers, much as Cooper in ``Shelter'' terrifies his wife and child with his quixotic gesture of inviting derelicts into their home. In Baxter's best and final story, ``Saul and Patsy Are Pregnant,'' the characters from preceding stories come together, and their collective longing is resolved. Saul learns what the women have always known: happiness, if such a thing can exist, is love. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Everything old becomes new again in this collection of 13 short stories. Set in Michigan, Baxter's stories explore the various manifestations of love in human relationships: love that is lost, found, unrequited, and rediscovered; love in youth, middle, and old age. Whether we are reading about a social worker's chance encounter with a troubled teenager at the zoo, a happily married man's obsession with the secrets of the universe, a baker's attempt to assuage his guilt about the homeless, or a young Swede's disorienting introduction to Detroit, there is an element of familiarity in the tales. The author has written subtly but masterfully about the nuances of personal interaction in this insightful collection. Although his stories revolve around ordinary people and circumstances, the perspective is fresh and interesting. Through his character development, Baxter manages to give form to the doubts and fears we all share. --Kimberly G. Allen, National Assn. of Home Builders Lib., Washington, D.C.

Library Journal