پاجامه‌های هرب

"With her own special brand of delicate, elliptical, and humorous fiction, Abigail Thomas offers another extraordinary visit with people she knows far better than they know themselves. There's Walter, newly abandoned by his wife; there's Edith, a fiftyish virgin; there's Bunny, taking care of her mother and her mother's boyfriend; and there's Belle, whose married lover dies in the hallway wearing her dead husband Herb's pajama top. Blindly, they encounter one another in ways the reader recognizes are profound even as the characters themselves are unaware. The genius and the art in this collection derives from the possibility that these ships might actually find each other by daylight. If only these four could get together--they'd be so good for each other. "Written with an expert touch, and a wise and tender sensibility. The effect is subtle, strong, and comic."--Charles Baxter, author of BELIEVERS and BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE; "It's hard to think she is capable of writing anything that isn't immediately engaging and a joy to read. Probably someone should publish her shopping lists."--Elizabeth Berg, author of TALK BEFORE SLEEP. A BOOK-OF-THE-MONTH CLUB SELECTION."-- Provided by publisher These Linked Stories Of Four Lonely City Dwellers By The New York Times–bestselling Author Of A Three Dog Life Come Together In This “gem” (the Village Voice). “a Lonely Hermit, A Dead Cobbler, A Teenage Runaway, And A 54-year-old Virgin Star In This . . . Collection Of Poignant Short Stories Set On New York’s Upper West Side. In Concise, Deft Prose, Thomas Interweaves Tales Of Ordinary People Coping With Urban Malaise. The First Piece Describes Walter, A Sci-fi Writer, Pondering The Value Of His Existence After His Wife Walks Out. After Walter Is Cheered Up By Mexican Rooftop Singers, The Narrative Shifts To His Troubled Neighbor, Edith. An Overweight, Sexually Frustrated Woman, Edith’s Unusual Antics Include Pocketing Her Dying Mother’s Jewelry And Leaving Flowers In The Trash For A Homeless Woman. As Edith And Walter Come To Grips With Their Loneliness, The Chaotic New York Milieu Is A Vital Force Invigorating Their Lives. After A 14-year Old Runs Away In Search Of Her Older Sister In The Penultimate Story, The Collection Ends With An Adulteress Struggling To Move Her Dead Lover’s Body, Still Clad In Her Husband’s Pajamas. In Portraying Each Of Her Four Characters, Thomas Captures The Subtle Details Of City Life With Elegance, Flair, Wit, And Comic Timing.” —boston Review “thomas Has A Way With Details That Makes For Endings As Bittersweet As Her Beginnings.” —publishers Weekly “an Entertaining, Cohesive, And Well-written Volume.” —booklist Here we meet four New York City apartment dwellers, all of whom live on a single short block on the Upper West Side, where, unbeknownst to them - but delightfully beknownst to the reader - they "pass like ships in the night.". There's Walter, whose wonderful wife has just left him; there's Edith, a fiftyish virgin whose once-famous mother has just died; there's Bunny, whose big sister has run away and left her behind to deal with their mother and their mother's boyfriend; and there's Belle, whose married lover, Rudy, has died on the fire escape wearing her dead husband Herb's pajama top. As they struggle to squeeze past their losses, Walter and Edith and Bunny and Belle are forced out into the hallways and elevators, onto the sidewalks, into the shops and restaurants, where their passing shadows interweave as their elbows brush. Abigail Thomas leaves us believing that these ships might actually find each other by daylight. And through that possibility she illuminates and humanizes New York. A Collection Of Stories On Four New Yorkers. In The Title Story, A Married Man Dies Of A Heart Attack While Visiting His Mistress, In Bunny's Sister, A Girl Has A Difficult Time Dealing With Her Mother's Boyfriend, And Edith's Wardrobe Is On A Woman's Frustration At Being Fifty And Still A Virgin. Walter's Book -- Edith's Wardrobe -- Hats -- Negligee -- Gloves -- Handkerchiefs -- Fur Coat -- Leopard-skin Shirt -- Totes -- Fig Leaf -- Sunglasses -- Shoes -- Shopping Bag -- Birthday Suit -- Underwear -- No Pocketbook -- Bunny's Sister -- Herb's Pajamas. Abigail Thomas.