Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules is a collection of short stories selected and introduced by David Sedaris. Within these covers a careful reader can discover the truth about loneliness, hope, love, betrayal, and certain, but not all, monkeys.
David Sedaris is an exceptional reader. Alone in his apartment, he reads stories aloud to the point he has them memorized. Sometimes he fantasizes that he wrote them. Sometimes, when they’re his very favorite stories, he’ll fantasize about reading them in front of an audience and taking credit for them. The audience in these fantasies always loves him and gives him the respect he deserves.
David Sedaris didn’t write the stories in Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules. But he did read them. And he liked them enough to hand pick them for this collection of short fiction. Featuring such notable writers as Lorrie Moore, Alice Munro, Joyce Carol Oates, Jean Thompson, and Tobias Wolff, Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules includes some of the most influential and talented short story writers, contemporary and classic.
Perfect for fans who suffer from Sedaris fever, Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules will tide them over and provide relief.
Editorial Review(s)
"Consider the irresistible narrative arc of Sedaris' personal essays, his indelible voice, and his crisp timing, and it will come as no surprise that he is an avid, insightful reader of short stories. He is so inspired by the form that he has put together an A-list anthology of his favorites, thus creating a collection that will seduce readers heretofore resistant to the form, and induce fellow short story lovers to nod in pleased recognition. One can't go wrong with an anthology that includes Katherine Mansfield's "The Garden Party," Flannery O'Connor's "Revelation," and stories by Alice Munro, Lorrie Moore, Tobias Wolff, and Jhumpa Lahiri, let alone appearances by Dorothy Parker and Patricia Highsmith. An epilogue by Sarah Vowell explains that the proceeds from this collection will go to 826NYC, a nonprofit tutoring program designed to help students learn to write, one of a string of programs being established across the country by the creative and enterprising group at McSweeney's. Donna Seaman, Booklist
About the Author
David Sedaris is the author of the internationally bestselling Barrel Fever, Naked, Holidays on Ice, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, and Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk.
