Criers and Kibitzers, Kibitzers and Criers

These nine stories reveal a dazzling variety of styles, tones and subject matter. Among them are some of Stanley Elkin's finest, including the fabulistic "On a Field, Rampant," the farcical "Perlmutter at the East Pole," and the stylized "A Poetics for Bullies." Despite the diversity of their form and matter, each of these stories shares Elkin's nimble, comic, antic imagination, a dedication to the value of form and language, and a concern with a single theme: the tragic inadequacy of a simplistic response to life.

"This imagination of Elkin's sneaks up, tickles, surprises, shocks and kills. It makes stories that are deadly funny."—The New York Times

Publishers Weekly

These nine short stories focus on Jewish characters in urban settings. This edition features a new preface by the author and an afterword by Harold Brodkey. PW applauded the collection for its ``extremely high and rich comic quality.'' (Oct.)

Stanley Elkin—a two-time recipient of the National Book Critics Circle Award—is widely regarded as one of America's most important contemporary writers. During his lifetime he wrote more than a dozen novels and short-story collections, including The Magic Kingdom, The Franchiser, and The Dick Gibson Show.