Trajectory: Stories (Vintage Contemporaries) - Softcover

"Beautiful. . . . Will abruptly break your heart. That's what Richard Russo does, without pretension or fuss, time and time again." --The New York Times

"[A] collection of short fiction so rich and flavorsome that the temptation is to devour it all at once. I can't in good conscience advise otherwise." --Laura Collins-Hughes, The Boston Globe

"Has the engaging quality of tales told by a friend, over drinks, about a person we know in common. And so we lean forward, eager to hear what happened next." --The New York Times Book Review

"Vibrant. . . Russo's gift for character is as powerful as ever, enlivened with spot-on detail." --People

"The four tales here are replete with Russo's insightful studies of relationships. . . . Throughout, we enjoy Russo's skill at weaving a story in which conflicted characters find moments of revelation and, sometimes, redemption. . . . . Rewarding and worth ruminating about." --Minneapolis Star Tribune

"The stories in Trajectory are classic Russo, tales of minor-key defeat laced with rue and humor. . . . Russo again shows how adept he is at portraying life as a tragicomedy. . . . Gives readers plenty to enjoy and mull as his characters ponder their life trajectories." --The Dallas Morning News

"Delightful. . . . Unearthing such insight on page 44 (instead of page 444) is a bit like watching a successful squeeze bunt score a runner from third--just as exciting as a home run, but a shorter trip and a rarer treat." --Paste

"Intriguing and universal. . . . Russo newcomers will begin to scope out why he's a Pulitzer Prize winner." --Houston Chronicle

"Heart-warming. . . . Absorbing. . . . A testament to Richard Russo's skill at deploying his characters. . . . All four stories are challenging not because they are difficult--they are not--but because they raise questions about why we live our lives the way we do, and if that's all right." --The Washington Times

"[An] engrossing collection." --Southern Living

"Russo remains an entertaining and interesting writer." --The Christian Science Monitor

"Russo is a master at Everyman, offering common folks doing their best to get by, the cards often stacked against them. . . . This collection is a welcome edition to Russo's work--if you haven't delved into the Pulitzer prize-winning author's books, do yourself a favor and begin." --The Missourian

"Cogent, wry and satisfying. . . . Confirm[s] Russo's status as one of the most justly celebrated American writers." --Portland Press-Herald

"Wonderful. . . . Russo's writing should be cherished." --Columbus Dispatch

"Powerful. . . . An entertaining and compellingly provocative read." --New York Journal of Books

"Potent and surprising tales. . . . Russo rarely wastes a word, interweaving details and dialogue into master classes on storytelling." --Kirkus Reviews (starred)

"A singularly satisfying journey. Very few writers so thoroughly embrace human foibles, or present them in such an accepting and empathetic manner." --Booklist (starred review)

The characters in these four expansive stories are a departure from the blue-collar denizens that populate so many of Richard Russo’s novels; and all are bound together by parallel moments of reckoning with their pasts. In “Horseman,” a young professor confronts an undergraduate plagiarist—as well as her own regrets. In “Intervention,” a realtor facing a serious medical prognosis finds himself in his late father’s shadow. “Voice” gives us a semiretired academic who is conned by his estranged brother into joining a group tour of the Venice Biennale. And “Milton and Marcus” takes us into a lapsed novelist’s attempt to rekindle his screenwriting career—a career that depends wholly, at a crucial moment, on two Hollywood icons (one living, one dead). Shot through with Russo’s inimitable humor, wisdom, and surprise, Trajectory is the work of a masterful writer continuing to discover new heights.