Saving Stanley: The Brickman Stories Paperback - 2004

First line

WHEN THE CAT WAS SICK AND SLOWLY DYING, HANNAH canceled vacation plans, dinner parties, hair appointments, a manicure.

From the rear cover

THESE EXTREMELY WELL-WRITTEN AND ELEGANTLY WROUGHT STORIES are rigorous, nuanced explorations of emotional and cultural limbo-states. Saving Stanley is a substantial, serious, and intelligent contribution to contemporary Jewish American writing. --DAVID SHIELDS, author of Enough About You: Adventures in Autobiography and A Handbook for Drowning THERE'S A CERTAIN THRILL in reading a young writer coming into his own. The nuances of style, the interplay of theme and narrative, the keen and sympathetic eye for character--all rendered new by a fresh voice and talent. Scott Nadelson's stories are bracing, lively, humorous, honest. A splendid debut. --EHUD HAVAZELET, author of Like Never Before and What Is It Then Between Us SCOTT NADELSON'S FINE FIRST STORY COLLECTION achieves a rare balance between compassionate comedy and an unswerving attention to the dark trials of family life. Watching Daniel Brickman come of age was like watching a high-wire act: I held my breath for him, but felt the sure and steady net of Nadelson's vision all along, keeping this boy, and his whole family, wildly alive. --MARJORIE SANDOR, author of Portrait of My Mother, Who Posed Nude in Wartime and The Night Gardener THE TORTUOUS KNOTS of Scott Nadelson's Brickman family make my toes curl and my breath quicken. Equally powerful with narrative and dialogue, he is a writer in full possession of both his material and his craft. --SUSAN THAMES, author of I'll Be Home Late Tonight