Through the Safety Net: Stories
by Charles Baxter
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Baxter dives into the undercurrents of middle-class American life in these eleven arresting, often mesmerizing stories. Whether they know it or not, Baxter's characters are floating above an abyss of unruly desire, inexplicable dread, unforeseen tragedy, and sudden moments of grace. A drunken graduate student hurtles cheerfully through a snowstorm to rescue a fiancee who no longer wants him. A hospital maintenance worker makes a perverse bid for his place in the sunlight of celebrity. A man show more and a woman who have lost their only child cling fiercely to the one thing they have left of her--their grief. Lit by the quiet lightning of Baxter's prose, Through the Safety Net is filled with rare artistry and feeling. show lessTags
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I spent most of the month lingering over these stories which I found provocative, upsetting, or strangely comforting. Certain passages entered my bloodstream and are now a permanent part of me. Such is Charles Baxter.
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Author Information
34+ Works 5,643 Members
Charles Baxter is the author of novels and short story collections. His novels include The Feast of Love, The Soul Thief, Saul and Patsy, Shadow Play, and First Light. His short story collections include Gryphon, Believers, A Relative Stranger, Through the Safety Net, Harmony of the World, and There's Something I Want You to Do. He teaches at the show more University of Minnesota and in the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. (Bowker Author Biography) Charles Baxter is author of several novels, including "The Feast of Love", "Shadow Play", & "First Light", & collections of stories including "Believers" & "A Relative Stranger". He teaches writing at the University of Michigan. (Publisher Provided) He lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is the recipient of a Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Foundation Award for Writers & an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts & Letters. (Publisher Provided) show less
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Through the Safety Net: Stories
- Original publication date
- 1985
- Dedication
- For Tom, Lew and Daniel Baxter and in memory of Dennis Turner
- First words
- She thought he was a decent enough man until she tried to break up with him.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 159
- Popularity
- 205,254
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.98)
- Languages
- English, Spanish
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 4
