A funny, sad, off-kilter collection of stories from an emerging young American star.
Sam Lipsyte is a young writer whose star is well and truly in the ascendency. This collection of short stories was published to rave reviews in the US and named as one of the 25 best books of the year by the 'New York Times'. These stories, and his novel, 'The Subject Steve' place him firmly in the tradition of great American humorists and satirists - from Nathanael West to David Sedaris and George Saunders.
Quirky, sad, funny, knowing, in 'Venus Drive' Lipsyte has captured the tragicomic lives of the offbeat - the walking wounded hipsters with crummy jobs, drug fiends in various stages of addiction, out of control kids packed off to summer camp.
Written in a compulsively witty style, Lipsyte has an uncanny ability to write from the perspective of any voice he might choose. His stories crackle with streetwise dialogue and a black, grim wit that is at times shocking. Unsentimental they might be, but these stories never fail to move the reader to extremes of emotion.
