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The Rainbow Stories

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Paperback
$30.00 US
5.49"W x 8.44"H x 1.22"D   | 18 oz | 28 per carton
On sale Jul 01, 1992 | 560 Pages | 978-0-14-017154-9
The debut collection of stories from the National Book-Award winning author of Europe Central

From a writer who has won comparison with Thomas Pynchon and William S. Burroughs comes thirteen unnerving and often breathtaking stories populated by punks and angels, skinheads and religious assassins, streetwalkers and fetishists--people who live outside the law and and the clear light of the every day. Set in landscapes as diverse as ancient Babylon, India, and the seamy underbelly of San Francisco, these daring and innovative tales are laced with Vollmann's fertile imagination. The Rainbow Stories ushers us into a world that bears an awful yet hypnotic resemblance to that of our deepest nightmares, confirming Vollmann's reputation as a dark visionary of contemporary fiction.
"A bold and strenuous collection . . . Vollmann's gifts include passion, amplitude, a deep love and knowledge of the underside of urban life in San Francisco, and a dark and gruesome humor." --The Washington Post

"Rainbow suggests the extraordinary range and fire of Vollmann's style. . . . He writes with a fierce and bright-hued sensibility." --Los Angeles Times

"A domineering display of a rare talent . . . Vollmann is staking out an intelligent universe worth exploring for thirty more years." --Chicago Tribune
William T. Vollmann has won the Whiting Foundation Award and the Shiva Naipaul Memorial Award for his fiction. View titles by William T. Vollmann

About

The debut collection of stories from the National Book-Award winning author of Europe Central

From a writer who has won comparison with Thomas Pynchon and William S. Burroughs comes thirteen unnerving and often breathtaking stories populated by punks and angels, skinheads and religious assassins, streetwalkers and fetishists--people who live outside the law and and the clear light of the every day. Set in landscapes as diverse as ancient Babylon, India, and the seamy underbelly of San Francisco, these daring and innovative tales are laced with Vollmann's fertile imagination. The Rainbow Stories ushers us into a world that bears an awful yet hypnotic resemblance to that of our deepest nightmares, confirming Vollmann's reputation as a dark visionary of contemporary fiction.

Praise

"A bold and strenuous collection . . . Vollmann's gifts include passion, amplitude, a deep love and knowledge of the underside of urban life in San Francisco, and a dark and gruesome humor." --The Washington Post

"Rainbow suggests the extraordinary range and fire of Vollmann's style. . . . He writes with a fierce and bright-hued sensibility." --Los Angeles Times

"A domineering display of a rare talent . . . Vollmann is staking out an intelligent universe worth exploring for thirty more years." --Chicago Tribune

Author

William T. Vollmann has won the Whiting Foundation Award and the Shiva Naipaul Memorial Award for his fiction. View titles by William T. Vollmann