A Kind of Flying

These stories are full of surprises jolts and lightning strikes of recognition. Do yourself a favor and read Ron Carlson. —Stephen KingRon Carlson''s stories sometimes wicked or bittersweet often zany are rich with a hard-earned hopefulness frequently absent in contemporary fiction. In this generous gathering from collections no longer available longtime fans and new readers alike can savor the development of a master of idiosyncrasy.Properly celebrated for his range Carlson offers us a rural sheriff who''s wary of UFOs (Phenomena) a lawyer on a mission in remote Alaska (Blazo) a baseball player turned killer-by-accident (Zanduce at Second) and a nineteen-year-old who experiences an unsettling sexual awakening during an Arizona summer (Oxygen). Here also is a man accusing Bigfoot of stealing his wife followed by Bigfoot''s incomparable response. Not least of the treasures is The H Street Sledding Record a story perfect for family holiday reading in which a young father creates the magic of Santa by throwing manure on his roof on Christmas Eve.This book proves Carlson''s axiom that a short story is not a single thing done a single way and it offers us—finally—a full view of his remarkable talents.