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Swim back to me  Cover Image Book Book

Swim back to me / Ann Packer.

Packer, Ann, 1959- (Author).

Record details

  • ISBN: 9781400044047
  • ISBN: 1400044049
  • Physical Description: 225 p. ; 22 cm.
  • Edition: 1st ed.
  • Publisher: New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2011.

Content descriptions

General Note:
"This is a Borzoi book"--T.p. verso.
Formatted Contents Note:
Walk for mankind -- Molten -- Jump -- Dwell time -- Her firstborn -- Things said or done.
Summary, etc.:
Packer's sterling collection of stories is framed by two novellas: "Walk for Mankind" about teenager Richard Appleby and his bittersweet relationship with Sasha Horowitz, a rebellious, risk-taking 14-year-old, who has a clandestine affair with a drug dealer; and, "Things Said or Done" set three decades later, when Sasha, now 51 and divorced, has become Richard's caretaker.
Subject: Teenagers > Fiction.
Fathers and daughters > Fiction.
Divorced women > Fiction.
Middle-aged women > Fiction.
Genre: Domestic fiction.
Short stories.

Available copies

  • 1 of 1 copy available at GRPL.

Holds

0 current holds with 1 total copy.

Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Main Fiction Packer (Text) 31307019594052 Storage Available -

Electronic resources


Syndetic Solutions - BookList Review for ISBN Number 9781400044047
Swim Back to Me
Swim Back to Me
by Packer, Ann
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BookList Review

Swim Back to Me

Booklist


From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

For readers of short fiction, these three short stories and three novellas will be delightful. Packer, author of the novel The Dive from Clausen's Pier (2002), proves as adept with shorter forms as she is with novels. As expected from a winner of the Alex Award, the young characters that appear in this collection, though few, are well rounded and memorable. But even more memorable are the adults: the Yale graduate who can't hold a job and is descending the teaching ladder, the apprehensive husband whose pregnant wife lost her first child to SIDS, and the second-time-around wife whose life is disrupted when her new husband disappears. Many of these people live in California, and readers will be almost blinded by the white sunlight and will feel the verdant shade of the forest in Packer's powerfully described settings. These resonant, memorable stories evoke difficulties in family life and will appeal to those who enjoy such disparate writers as Lee Smith, A. S. Byatt, and ZZ Packer. Delicious!--Loughran, Ellen Copyright 2010 Booklist

Syndetic Solutions - Library Journal Review for ISBN Number 9781400044047
Swim Back to Me
Swim Back to Me
by Packer, Ann
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Library Journal Review

Swim Back to Me

Library Journal


(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

This new collection from Packer (The Dive from Clausen's Pier) is framed by two stunning first-person narratives that introduce readers to two academic families briefly converging in and around Stanford in the 1970s. In each case, the narrator comes from the second generation. The opening story, "Walk for Mankind," captures the viewpoint of the teenage son of an established Stanford history professor, while the closing piece, "Things Said and Done," gives voice to the adventurous daughter of a visiting instructor taking a step down from Yale for a one-year appointment in Palo Alto. In each instance, Packer pulls the strings in such a way that the itinerant father, doomed by his difficult personality to a life perpetually lived off the tenure track, becomes the focal point. Unfortunately, or perhaps inevitably, the other four stories in the volume, though well crafted and engaging, have the feel of problems solved rather than lives fully lived. VERDICT Whereas some great short story writers stumble with the sprawl of a novel, Packer, who occasionally works on a smaller scale, appears to be a novelist at heart. Still, these California stories are expansive and open-ended. It's hard to let them go. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 11/1/10.]-Sue Russell, Bryn Mawr, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Syndetic Solutions - Publishers Weekly Review for ISBN Number 9781400044047
Swim Back to Me
Swim Back to Me
by Packer, Ann
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Publishers Weekly Review

Swim Back to Me

Publishers Weekly


(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Six narrators perform this collection of short stories with compassionate, sensitive readings. The standout is Kirsten Potter, whose wry, ironic tone perfectly fits her narration as a woman recalling her quirky family history as she plays peacemaker to her estranged parents at her brother's wedding. Kathe Mazur also does well in evoking the anxiety of a woman whose new husband does not come home, and her anger and confusion on discovering that he has a habit of simply "disappearing" for days without telling anyone. But all the narrators do exemplary jobs in conveying the rich layers in these nuanced slice-of-life tales. A Knopf hardcover. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.


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