We OthersNew and Selected Storiesby Steven Millhauser

WHO:
Steven Millhauser

WHAT:
WE OTHERS
New and Selected Stories

WHEN:
Published by Knopf August 23, 2011

WHERE:
The author lives in Saratoga Springs.

WHY:
“Literary fiction old and new
from one of the contemporary
masters of the form.
“Millhauser’s latest work opens the book. In the first new story, ‘The Slap,’ readers enter a bucolic suburban community where a nameless man has begun to slap people at random. Clad in a bland trench coat, the man may be striking out against self-absorption and self-satisfaction, or he simply may be unstable. He slaps. And then he stops. Readers are left to dream why.
“The second new story is ‘The White Glove’: Emily and Will, teenage partners in a deep platonic but not yet romantic relationship, are confronted by an odd disease that ends with Emily covering her hand with a white glove. Like much of Millhauser’s work, ‘The White Glove’ touches upon the surrealistic and resonates with metaphors and allegories.
“A shorter piece is ‘Getting Closer,’ six pages of exposition delving into a youngster’s reluctance to end the sweet anticipation of summer’s beginning. ‘The Invasion from Outer Space’ offers near science fiction without robots and dying planets. ‘People of the Book’ is a religious allegory complete with a virgin birth. Meanwhile, ‘The Next Thing’ imagines a faceless corporation that builds a giant underground warehouse store—only to take over the town above for its own executives.
“Literary language, much exposition, intelligent speculation about the human condition, all woven through sophisticated storytelling.”
—Kirkus Reviews

Media Resources:
About the book | Author bio

Publicity:
Michelle Somers | 212-572-2082 | msomers@randomhouse.com