Sam Shepard's Day Out of Days: Stories
There are few writers who can successfully incorporate a talking, severed head into a story collection, but Sam Shepard is one of them. An award-winning playwright and short story writer, Shepard explores the American West in his latest story collection, Day Out of Days. Note that the term “story collection” is used loosely, since only a few of the stories have traditional structures. Many consist only of snippets of dialogue, poem-like passages, even a single paragraph, but they are linked by a common narrator. The narrator travels through small, forgotten towns of the west, relaying stories that range from suspiciously autobiographical to flat-out fantasy (again, there is a talking, severed head). While some critics find the stories unsatisfying in their brevity and lack of arc, most claim Shepard has once again created an original work of art that highlights the strangeness of life. Fans of Shepard will likely be delighted, but readers of more traditional short fiction might want to tread carefully.
“Again and again, we find in Day out of Days, everything in life is a mystery; the road to answers, or even a satisfying sense of place, never ends.” – Lloyd Sachs, Chicago Sun-Times
“Using fanciful anecdotes, lyric riffs, seemingly lifelike reminiscences and quotes from our nation’s founding thinkers, [Shepard] drills down through the strata of our history into the bedrock of American myth.” – Walter Kirn, New York Times
“Like his earlier volumes, Day Out of Days resembles a mosaic, one with an uncertain, shifting pattern.” – Daniel Dyer, The Plain Dealer
“While many of the stories hint at fascinating possibilities, few of them feel fully fleshed out, making for a less-than-satisfying read.” – Michael Astor, Associated Press
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