Saying Things

About the Book

The 15 stories in this innovative collection interlock so smoothly that the book as a whole reads like a novel. They follow Mickey Fingerhut from when he is 14 years old in a small Pennsylvania coal mining town, through college, Vietnam, marriage, death of a young son, and divorce, to a search for meaning in the New Mexico desert. The award-winning writer (Book-of-the-Month Club Fellowship, Mississippi Review Prize) examines loneliness, desire, guilt, and a gamut of other human emotions in these stories, which are both accessible and often experimental. Reminiscent of Faulkner in their exploration of the human heart, these stories will also remind some readers of Richard Yates and Ernest Hemingway in the clarity of their art.

About the Author

Martin Naparsteck is the author of two novels about the Vietnam War, WAR SONG and A HERO'S WELCOME, and a collection of short stories, SAYING THINGS. He has also written the only biography of Mark Twain wife, MRS. MARK TWAIN, THE LIFE OF OLIVIA LANGDON CLEMENS; a history book, SEX AND MANIFEST DESTINY; and a book about an underappreciated American author, RICHARD YATES UP CLOSE. And a book of writing advice, HONESTY IN THE USE OF WORDS. His shorter work has appeared in North American Review, Mississippi Review, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, The Writer, and more than 100 other publications. For 10 years he was the book reviewer for the Salt Lake Tribune. He lives in upstate New York.