The Taste of Penny

Fiction & Literature, Short Stories
Cover of the book The Taste of Penny by Jeff Parker, Dzanc Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jeff Parker ISBN: 9780982631867
Publisher: Dzanc Books Publication: June 1, 2010
Imprint: Dzanc Books Language: English
Author: Jeff Parker
ISBN: 9780982631867
Publisher: Dzanc Books
Publication: June 1, 2010
Imprint: Dzanc Books
Language: English

“Jeff Parker is a writer who understands that voice is the doorway to all true beauty in fiction. Tight, wry, dark, and deeply funny – he is a master of the hyper-compressed sentence that explodes with more meaning and nuance than should be possible.” – George Saunders, author of Pastoralia

“Jeff Parker’s stories are mysterious, heartfelt, and utterly captivating. In The Taste of Penney he casually flexes a Voltron-like combo of writerly gifts: Ron Carlson’s mastery of voice, Elmore Leonard’s uncanny ear for dialogue, and Raymond Carver’s spare wit. This collection contains some of the most absorbing and brightly imaginative stories I’ve come across in some time.” – Davy Rothbart, FOUND Magazine

“Whether moose legs or tongue tips or sperm counts or pennies lodged into a throat, Parker disassembles us so compellingly that we no longer wish to be whole. His inventiveness revises the world as we know it with audacious wit.” – Mary Caponegro, author of All Fall Down and The Star Café

“Here we have characters in Russian messing up in hilarious ways; taking care of a cheating girlfriend’s pet bird; failing miserably at roadside tests in front of cops; spraying indoor centipedes with cheap cologne. Has my life ever been this bad? Nope. Have I ever felt like such a foreigner in an already-strange land? Not even close. Do I wish that Id’ written these stories? Absolutely. I’m jealous. The Taste of Penny’s the best ride at a spectacular carnival. “ – George Singleton, author of The Half-Mammals of Dixie and These People Are Us.

“These stories are haunting and constantly surprising.” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)

The Taste of Penny agitates the sense in thirteen stories modern and mischievous. This collection captures love, relationships, and finding one's way in the twenty-first century.

Jeff Parker is the author of the novel Ovenman (Tin House). His short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in American Short Fiction, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, Indiana Review, Ploughshares, Tin House, The Walrus, and others. He teaches creative writing at the University of Toronto.
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

“Jeff Parker is a writer who understands that voice is the doorway to all true beauty in fiction. Tight, wry, dark, and deeply funny – he is a master of the hyper-compressed sentence that explodes with more meaning and nuance than should be possible.” – George Saunders, author of Pastoralia

“Jeff Parker’s stories are mysterious, heartfelt, and utterly captivating. In The Taste of Penney he casually flexes a Voltron-like combo of writerly gifts: Ron Carlson’s mastery of voice, Elmore Leonard’s uncanny ear for dialogue, and Raymond Carver’s spare wit. This collection contains some of the most absorbing and brightly imaginative stories I’ve come across in some time.” – Davy Rothbart, FOUND Magazine

“Whether moose legs or tongue tips or sperm counts or pennies lodged into a throat, Parker disassembles us so compellingly that we no longer wish to be whole. His inventiveness revises the world as we know it with audacious wit.” – Mary Caponegro, author of All Fall Down and The Star Café

“Here we have characters in Russian messing up in hilarious ways; taking care of a cheating girlfriend’s pet bird; failing miserably at roadside tests in front of cops; spraying indoor centipedes with cheap cologne. Has my life ever been this bad? Nope. Have I ever felt like such a foreigner in an already-strange land? Not even close. Do I wish that Id’ written these stories? Absolutely. I’m jealous. The Taste of Penny’s the best ride at a spectacular carnival. “ – George Singleton, author of The Half-Mammals of Dixie and These People Are Us.

“These stories are haunting and constantly surprising.” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)

The Taste of Penny agitates the sense in thirteen stories modern and mischievous. This collection captures love, relationships, and finding one's way in the twenty-first century.

Jeff Parker is the author of the novel Ovenman (Tin House). His short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in American Short Fiction, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, Indiana Review, Ploughshares, Tin House, The Walrus, and others. He teaches creative writing at the University of Toronto.

More books from Dzanc Books

Cover of the book The Week You Weren't Here by Jeff Parker
Cover of the book The Time of My Life: Essays by Jeff Parker
Cover of the book By Light We Knew Our Names by Jeff Parker
Cover of the book The Pavilion of Former Wives by Jeff Parker
Cover of the book The Bastard Pleasure by Jeff Parker
Cover of the book We Make Mud by Jeff Parker
Cover of the book Whatever Happened to Gloomy Gus of the Chicago Bears? by Jeff Parker
Cover of the book Reflections on a Teapot by Jeff Parker
Cover of the book The Fair Sister by Jeff Parker
Cover of the book Moral Tale and Other Moral Tales, A by Jeff Parker
Cover of the book The Body in Four Parts by Jeff Parker
Cover of the book The Clay That Breathes by Jeff Parker
Cover of the book Rock and Rol Heaven by Jeff Parker
Cover of the book The Funnies by Jeff Parker
Cover of the book The Zoo, a Going by Jeff Parker
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy