Fierce Pretty Things (EPUB) von Tom Howard

1. Fierce Pretty Things is a powerful, beautifully written collection of short stories that is stylistically or thematically similar to: Tenth of December (George Saunders); Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned (Wells Tower); Magic for Beginners (Kelly Link); The Color Master (Aimee Bender); Dark Lies the Island (Kevin Barry)

2. It was the winner of the third Blue Light Books Prize, and was selected by judge Samrat Upadhyay, who commented: Each sentence, tight and beautiful, reads like a proof of what powerful fiction can do.

3. The stories center around grief, loss, and violence, and have perfect balance of tragedy and dark comedy. Theyre extremely relatable and compelling, hard to put down, and almost guaranteed to move readers to tears in one paragraph, and laughter the next.

BANDANA

HILDY

TEMPLE& VINE

FIERCE PRETTY THINGS

SCARECROWS

GRANDFATHER VAMPIRE

THE MAGNIFICENTS

XIOMARA

In these eight darkly comic stories, Tom Howard explores the instincts for violence and tenderness that mark his character's lives. A brother and sister wander the pier after a deadly plague destroys most of humanity. A high school bully struggles to overcome his demons. A man in the grips of dementia is visited by his children's ghosts. The people in these blistering tales grapple with past mistakes, trying to navigate their way toward redemption and resurrection and failing oftenbut always with a ferocious heart. Their unforgettable voices guide us through schoolyards, cemeteries, drive-in theaters, and the rich landscapes of their own imaginations.

Equal parts funny, tragic, and wise,Fierce Pretty Thingsis a striking debut that teaches us how to live in a world as cruel as it is beautiful.

Tom Howard's stories have appeared inNinth Letter, Indiana Review, Cincinnati Review, Willow Springs, Booth, and elsewhere, and have been awarded the Robert and Adele Schiff Award, the Tobias Wolff Award, the Masters Review Short Story Award, and the Indiana Review Fiction Prize. He holds an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and lives with his wife in Arlington, Virginia.