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McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales » (~)

Book cover image of McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales by Michael Chabon

Authors: Michael Chabon, Michael Chabon
ISBN-13: 9781400033393, ISBN-10: 140003339X
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Date Published: March 2003
Edition: ~

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Author Biography: Michael Chabon

Although his novels and short stories have varied in setting -- from the 1940s New York of the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay to the contemporary Pittsburgh of The Mysteries of Pittsburgh -- all of Michael Chabon s witty and understated books feature memorable, deftly-drawn characters trying to find their place in the world.

Book Synopsis

A Vintage Contemporaries Original

Includes:
Jim Shepard's "Tedford and the Megalodon"

Glen David Gold's "The Tears of Squonk, and What Happened Thereafter"

Dan Chaon's "The Bees"

Kelly Link's "Catskin"

Elmore Leonard's "How Carlos Webster Changed His Name to Carl and Became a Famous Oklahoma Lawman"

Carol Emshwiller's "The General"

Neil Gaiman's "Closing Time"

Nick Hornby's "Otherwise Pandemonium"

Stephen King's "The Tale of Gray Dick"

Michael Crichton's "Blood Doesn’t Come Out"

Laurie King's "Weaving the Dark"

Chris Offutt's "Chuck’s Bucket"

Dave Eggers's "Up the Mountain Coming Down Slowly"

Michael Moorcock's "The Case of the Nazi Canary"

Aimee Bender's "The Case of the Salt and Pepper Shakers"

Harlan Ellison's "Goodbye to All That"

Karen Joy Fowler's "Private Grave 9"

Rick Moody's "The Albertine Notes"

Michael Chabon's "The Martian Agent, a Planetary Romance"

Sherman Alexie's "Ghost Dance"

The Washington Post

All in all, the proportion of good stuff to filler in this anthology is unusually high, and the Moody novella alone is worth the price of the book. Perhaps the book's most ironic accomplishment is the long story by Dave Eggers, Mr. McSweeney's himself. After Moody's, it's the best story here, a wholly un-self-conscious account of a troubled thirtysomething named Rita who spends four days on a guided walk up the side of Mt. Kilimanjaro. It's beautifully written, wonderfully evocative of its exotic setting and full of vivid and finely detailed characters. It ends, not with risen corpses, monster sharks or the end of the world, but with -- and here's the thrilling part -- an epiphany. — James Hynes

Table of Contents

Jim Shepard “Tedford and The Megalodon”

Glen David Gold “The Tears of Squonk, and What Happened Thereafter”

Dan Chaon “The Bees”

Kelly Link “Catskin”

Elmore Leonard “How Carlos Webster Changed His Name to Carl and Became a Famous Oklahoma Lawman”

Carol Emshwiller “The General”

Neil Gaiman “Closing Time”

Nick Hornby “Otherwise Pandemonium”

Stephen King “The Tale of Gray Dick”

Michael Crichton “Blood Doesn’t Come Out”

Laurie King “Weaving the Dark”

Chris Offutt “Chuck’s Bucket”

Dave Eggers “Up the Mountain Coming Down Slowly”

Michael Moorcock “The Case of the Nazi Canary”

Aimee Bender “The Case of the Salt and Pepper Shakers”

Sherman Alexie “Ghost Dance”

Harlan Ellison “Goodbye to All That”

Karen Joy Fowler “Private Grave 9”

Rick Moody
“The Albertine Notes”

Michael Chabon “The Martian Agent, a Planetary Romance”

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