Safety of Objects

Published to overwhelming critical acclaim, this extraordinary collection of short stories established A. M. Homes as one of the most provocative and daring writers of her generation. Here you'll find the cult classic "A Real Doll," the tale of a teenage boy's erotic obsession with his sister's favorite doll; "Adults Alone," which first introduced Paul and Elaine, the crack-smoking yuppie couple whose marriage careens out of control in Homes's novel Music for Torching; and "Looking for Johnny," in which a kidnapped boy, having failed his abductor's expectations, is returned home.

Brilliantly conceived, sharply etched, and exceptionally satisfying, these stories explore the American dream in ways you're not likely soon to forget. Working in Kodacolor hues, Homes offers an uncanny picture of a surreal suburbia-outrageous and utterly believable.

Publishers Weekly

In these 10 stories of unstable suburbanites, a couple experiments with crack cocaine while their sons are away, a man loses self-definition upon finding his office unexpectedly closed, and a teenager becomes erotically attached to a demanding Barbie doll. ``Though occasionally given to straining for shocking effect, Homes has here demonstrated a quirky and original flair,'' said PW. (Nov.)

Salon wrote of the characters in A. M. Homes s 2002 story collection Things You Should Know, There are few formalities, even less bulls--t, no making nice for the sake of appearances. The same could be said for Homes s work as a whole. She specializes in bringing dark impulses and twisted tendencies to the surface, never softening or downplaying the often disturbing behavior displayed by her characters.