Ben Loory

Loory's collection of wry and witty, dark and perilous contemporary fables is populated by people–and monsters and trees and jocular octopi–who are united by twin motivations: fear and desire. In his singular universe, televisions talk (and sometimes sing), animals live in small apartments where their nephews visit from the sea, and men and women and boys and girls fall down wells and fly through space and find love on Ferris wheels. In a voice full of fable, myth, and dream, Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day draws us into a world of delightfully wicked recognitions, and introduces us to a writer of uncommon talent and imagination. Contains 40 stories, including "The Duck," "The Man and the Moose," and "Death and the Fruits of the Tree," as heard on NPR's This American Life, "The Book," as heard on Selected Shorts, and "The TV," as found in The New Yorker. A selection of the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Program and the Starbucks Coffee Bookish Reading Club. Winner of the 2011 Nobbie Award for Best Book of the Year. "This guy can write!" –Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451

Named a Favorite Book of 2017 by the staff of the Paris Review, one of the 50 Best Fantasy Books of All Time by Esquire Magazine, and one of the 25 Best Fantasy Books of All Time by Good Housekeeping. "Loory is the psychedelic Aesop of our modern age." --Scott McClanahan, author of The Sarah Book "One of my favorite writers." --Peter Straub, author of Ghost Story A dazzling new collection of stories from the critically acclaimed author of Stories for Nighttime and Some for The Day Ben Loory returns with a second collection of timeless tales, inviting us to enter his worlds of whimsical fantasy, deep empathy, and playful humor, in the signature voice that drew readers to his highly praised first collection. In stories that eschew literary realism, Loory's characters demonstrate richly imagined and surprising perspectives, whether they be dragons or swordsmen, star-crossed lovers or long-lost twins, restaurateurs dreaming of Paris or cephalopods fixated on space travel. In propulsive language that brilliantly showcases Loory's vast imagination, Tales of Falling and Flying expands our understanding of how fiction can work and is sure to cement his reputation as one of the most innovative short-story writers working today. Praise for Ben Loory's Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day "This guy can write!" --Ray Bradbury "[A] wild, dreamy debut . . . These stories are full of wit, humor, and heart." --The Boston Globe