Throughout his career as one of the foremost playwrights of the twentieth century, Arthur Miller wrote a remarkable series of highly regarded short stories, pieces that reveal the same profound insight, humanism, and empathy that are the hallmarks of his great dramatic works. Presence is a posthumous gathering of Miller’s last published fiction, a group of stories that appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, Esquire, and elsewhere. “Bulldog” describes a young teenager’s surprising first sexual experience while “Presence” relates a man’s encounter with a woman he has just seen making love on a beach. “Beavers” tells a haunting tale of nature, creation, and destruction. In “The Performance,” a Jewish tap dancer enthralls Hitler. “The Bare Manuscript” reveals a writer’s unusual methods to revive his muse, and, finally, “The Turpentine Still” presents a portrait of a man examining his legacy.
Displaying the sureness of an artist in his autumnal prime, Presence is a gift that all fans of Miller’s work, as well as readers of contemporary fiction, will welcome.
Editorial Reviews
"Chekhovian...deserves praising to the top of the highest skyscraper for its humanity, wit, and depth." --A.N. Wilson
"These stories remind us that the distinguished playwritght is a good writer, period." --Los Angeles Times Book Review
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