My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead - Paperback

by Jeffrey Eugenides (Author)

"Beautifully crafted . . . eclectic and original . . . this collection makes us remember how powerful and essential the best short stories are." --Francine Prose, O magazine

My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead is a literary masterpiece of amorous tales selected by Pulitzer Prize-winner Jeffrey Eugenides. From classics such as Chekhov's "The Lady with the Lapdog" to such modern fare as Richard Ford's "Fireworks," these outstanding works capture the desire, obsession, power, and spirit of the emotion that drives and transforms our lives. Writers featured include:

William Faulkner - James Joyce - Alice Munro - Milan Kundera - Grace Paley - Lorrie Moore - Eudora Welty - Denis Johnson - Vladimir Nabokov - Miranda July - Raymond Carver - George Saunders - Annie Proulx - And many, many more.

Front Jacket

When it comes to love, there are a million theories to explain it. But when it comes to love stories, things are simpler. A love story can never be about full possession. Love stories depend on disappointment, on unequal births and feuding families, on matrimonial boredom and at least one cold heart. Love stories, nearly without exception, give love a bad name . . . .

It is perhaps only in reading a love story (or in writing one) that we can simultaneously partake of the ecstasy and agony of being in love without paying a crippling emotional price. I offer this book, then, as a cure for lovesickness and an antidote to adultery. Read these love stories in the safety of your single bed. Let everybody else suffer.--Jeffrey Eugenides, from the introduction to My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead

All proceeds from My Mistress's Sparrow is Dead will go directly to fund the free youth writing programs offered by 826 Chicago. 826 Chicago is part of the network of seven writing centers across the United States affiliated with 826 National, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.

--Washington Post Book World

Back Jacket

"When it comes to love, there are a million theories to explain it. But when it comes to love stories, things are simpler. A love story can never be about full possession. Love stories depend on disappointment, on unequal births and feuding families, on matrimonial boredom and at least one cold heart. Love stories, nearly without exception, give love a bad name . . . .

It is perhaps only in reading a love story (or in writing one) that we can simultaneously partake of the ecstasy and agony of being in love without paying a crippling emotional price. I offer this book, then, as a cure for lovesickness and an antidote to adultery. Read these love stories in the safety of your single bed. Let everybody else suffer."--Jeffrey Eugenides, from the introduction to My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead

All proceeds from My Mistress's Sparrow is Dead will go directly to fund the free youth writing programs offered by 826 Chicago. 826 Chicago is part of the network of seven writing centers across the United States affiliated with 826 National, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.