{"product_id":"a-permanent-member-of-the-family-isbn-9780061857669","title":"A Permanent Member of the Family","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA collection of short stories from the contemporary American master whom the \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e declared \"the most compassionate fiction writer working today.\"\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSuffused with Russell Banks’s trademark lyricism and reckless humor, the twelve stories in \u003cem\u003eA Permanent Member of the Family\u003c\/em\u003e examine the myriad ways we try—and sometimes fail—to connect with one another, as we seek a home in the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the title story, a father looks back on the legend of the cherished family dog whose divided loyalties mirrored the fragmenting of his marriage. “A Former Marine” asks, to chilling effect, if one can ever stop being a parent. And in the haunting, evocative “Veronica,” a mysterious woman searching for her daughter may not be who she claims she is.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMoving between the stark beauty of winter in upstate New York and the seductive heat of Florida, Banks’s acute and penetrating collection demonstrates the range and virtuosity of both his narrative prowess and his startlingly panoramic vision of modern American life.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003eA masterly collection of new stories from Russell Banks, acclaimed author of \u003cem\u003eThe Sweet Hereafter\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eRule of the Bone\u003c\/em\u003e, which maps the complex terrain of the modern American family\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e lauds Russell Banks as \"the most compassionate fiction writer working today.\" Long celebrated for his unflinching, empathetic works that explore the unspoken but hard realities of contemporary culture, Banks now turns his keen intelligence and emotional acuity on perhaps his most complex subject yet: the shape of family in its many forms. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSuffused with Banks's trademark lyricism and reckless humor, the twelve stories in \u003cem\u003eA Permanent Member\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eof the Family\u003c\/em\u003e examine the myriad ways we try—and sometimes fail—to connect with one another, as we seek a home in the world. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMoving between the stark beauty of winter in upstate New York and the seductive heat of Florida, \u003cem\u003eA Permanent Member of the Family\u003c\/em\u003e charts with subtlety and precision the ebb and flow of both the families we make for ourselves and the ones we're born into. One of our most acute and penetrating authors, Banks is a virtuosic writer whose stories are profoundly humane, deeply—and darkly—funny, and absolutely unforgettable. \u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“…an exceptionally well-written, engaging, unified collection” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Journal of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“…Banks’s short fiction is relentlessly realistic, never cynical, and always attentive to the human condition.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBanks is a master of the kind of old-school, unadorned realism that hasn’t really been the fashion in short stories since the days of Raymond Carver. - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“These characters are all broken in wonderfully literary ways (’When a terrible thing happens, and it’s your own damn fault, there’s no closure, he thought. Whatever happened, you live with it.’) but Banks is primarily concerned with telling a good story, and the pages fly by.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDaily Beast\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The discoveries made by most of the other characters in this collection remain, by contrast, rather dark. But taken together, these stories comprise a richly composed tribute to life.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNPR (All Things Considered)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Difficult to put down and even more difficult to forget.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRoanoke Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Mr. Banks uses his sturdy gifts as a writer — his plain-spoken language, his sympathy for the downtrodden and depressed, his eye for detail (those unstrapped shoes, flipped off Ellen’s feet) — to give us visceral portraits of people trying to make sense of the past and the present.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Unlike many short stories, Banks tells gratifying, sewed-up tales. Readers may be left wanting more from the characters he creates, but he doesn’t leave his stories unraveled. True to form, he ties them up, not neatly, but thoroughly and satisfyingly.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAssociated Press\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“All of these are good, strong, perceptive stories about individuals trying to make connections or find comfort in a world where they feel neither necessary nor desired.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The 12 stories in Russell Banks’ newest collection, \u003ci\u003eA Permanent Member of the Family\u003c\/i\u003e - his 18th work of fiction and his 20th book - explore terrain familiar to fans of Raymond Carver’s boozy domestic dramas, George Saunders’ late capitalist nightmares, and grim tales of human perversity from upstate New York limned by Joyce Carol Oates.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[V]irtually all are remarkable sharp-focus snapshots of the giddy whirl and tragicomedy of modern-day American life.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMinneapolis Star Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[T]hese stories are straightforward, honest accounts of lives in moments of small change, poignant and gorgeous and nearly heartbreaking in their understatement.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eOregonian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“It’s a gift to experience such expertly evoked pathos, to see how Banks meticulously picks out and exposes the strands of his characters’ muddled and suppressed feelings.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[T]he writing rings with the weight of decisions made in constrained circumstances, decisions that become more moving because of how common they are… There’s a reflective quality, a sense of choices made, of consequence, in which redemption and resignation may be two sides of the same coin.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“His prose is strong and meaty - high in content, low in pretension - and he’s a dab hand at credible dialogue.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Banks uses simple language to reveal complex despair in characters you’ll recognize from the coffee shop nearest you.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Old-fashioned short fiction: honest, probing and moving.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[O]ne of the best books I’ve read in years” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eReal Simple magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“While these exquisitely crafted stories are highly personal, they are also permeated by a sense of sadness about the death of the American dream, as the country struggles, out of work and seemingly out of hope.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA resounding collection by an essential American writer. - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ecco","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44887932272869,"sku":"NP9780061857669","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780061857669.jpg?v=1730227768","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/a-permanent-member-of-the-family-isbn-9780061857669","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}