The State We're In

Maine Stories

Ann Beattie

$27.99

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Granta
24 February 2016

Fiction & Literature; Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945); Short stories

For the first time in a decade, the writer that John Updike credited with creating an entirely different kind of short story has pinned life by the pen and offered her readers a new

piece of work. Cool, ironic, sharply observed and witty, but underpinned with a quiet, barely-breathed tenderness, these stories - mainly set in Maine - explore the glancing epiphanies of daily life.

A teenage girl, spending the summer with her aunt and uncle while her mother recovers from surgery, tries to makes sense of some of life's curiosities, such as what magical realism is supposed to be, exactly; a woman having an affair with her daughter's best friend's boyfriend creates a list of their pluses and

minuses in an attempt to win the man. Conversations that start as literary name drops turn into aching explorations of joy, generosity and anguish; sudden deaths in peaceful plant nurseries reveal suspicion and privately pursued desires.

Beattie's voice is mesmeric and her lessons are lightly taught. The State We're In is a pitch-perfect meditation on that ultimate non-sequitur, a human life.

By: Ann Beattie
Imprint: Granta
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 135mm, Spine: 15mm
Weight: 221g
ISBN: 9781783782918
ISBN 10: 1783782919
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 24 February 2016
Recommended Age: From 0 to 0 years
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

ANN BEATTIE is the author of nine short story collections and eight novels. In 2000, she received the PEN/Malamud Award for achievement in the short story. In 2005, she received the Rea Award for the Short Story. She is a member of The American Academy of Arts and Letters and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She and her husband, Lincoln Perry, live in Maine and Key West, Florida.

Reviews for The State We're In: Maine Stories

Dense with off-kilter insight and suggestive characterisation, these are pieces that wrongfoot you in the best way -- Alex Clark * Observer * Beattie's handling of this subject is subtle, discomfiting and strangely beautiful. She is particularly adept at noticing the magic of the world in which her characters live so uneasily' -- Matthew Adams * Sunday Telegraph * The comedy is subtle, the writing is polished... Delicious to read - mischievous, witty, ironic and truthful -- Kate Saunders * The Times *