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The Safety of Objects
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The Safety of Objects Paperback - 2013

by A. M. Homes

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Summary

The breakthrough story collection that established A. M. Homes as one of the most daring writers of her generation
 
Originally published in 1990 to wide critical acclaim, this extraordinary first collection of stories by A. M. Homes confronts the real and the surreal on even terms to create a disturbing and sometimes hilarious vision of the American dream. Included here are "Adults Alone," in which a couple drops their kids off at Grandma's and gives themselves over to ten days of Nintendo, porn videos, and crack; "A Real Doll," in which a girl's blond Barbie doll seduces her teenaged brother; and "Looking for Johnny," in which a kidnapped boy, having failed to meet his abductor's expectations, is returned home. These stories, by turns satirical, perverse, unsettling, and utterly believable, expose the dangers of ordinary life even as their characters stay hidden behind the disguises they have so carefully created.

Reader reviews for The Safety of Objects

From the publisher

The breakthrough story collection that established A. M. Homes as one of the most daring writers of her generation

Originally published in 1990 to wide critical acclaim, this extraordinary first collection of stories by A. M. Homes confronts the real and the surreal on even terms to create a disturbing and sometimes hilarious vision of the American dream. Included here are "Adults Alone," in which a couple drops their kids off at Grandma's and gives themselves over to ten days of Nintendo, porn videos, and crack; "A Real Doll," in which a girl's blond Barbie doll seduces her teenaged brother; and "Looking for Johnny," in which a kidnapped boy, having failed to meet his abductor's expectations, is returned home. These stories, by turns satirical, perverse, unsettling, and utterly believable, expose the dangers of ordinary life even as their characters stay hidden behind the disguises they have so carefully created.

Details

  • Title The Safety of Objects
  • Author A. M. Homes
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Pages 208
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Penguin Books
  • Publication date 2013-01-29
  • Features Price on Product - Canadian, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780143122708 / 0143122703
  • Weight 0.35 lbs (0.16 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.6 in (19.30 x 12.95 x 1.52 cm)
  • Age range 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Category Fiction - General
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

Media reviews

Praise for The Safety of Objects:

“Enthralling . . . full of subversive humor and truth . . . original and stiletto sharp.”  —The Washington Post
 
“Wonderfully skewed stories . . . sharp, funny, and playful . . . Homes is confident and consistent in her odd departures from life as we know it, sustaining credibility by getting details right. A fully engaged imagination [is] at work—and play.” —Amy Hempel, The Los Angeles Times
 
“Alarmingly good . . . It is hard to say exactly who Homes’s predecessors are—Roald Dahl, Rachel Ingalls, and J.D. Salinger all come to mind—but in many ways she is not unlike Cheever.” —The Village Voice
 
“A.M. Homes’ provocative and funny and sometimes very sad takes on contemporary suburban life impressed me enormously. The more bizarre things get, the more impressed one is by A.M. Homes’ skills as a realist, a portraitist of contemporary life at its more perverse.” —David Leavitt
 
“These stories are remarkable. They are awesomely well-written. In the sense of arousing fear and wonder in the reader they entertain, but what they principally bring us is a sense of recognition . . . Here are all the things that even today, even in our frank outspoken times, we don’t talk about. We think of them punishingly in sleepless nights.” —Ruth Rendell
 

“An unnerving glimpse through the windows of other people’s lives. A.M. Homes is a provocative and eloquent writer, and her vision of the way we live now is anything but safe.” —Meg Wolitzer
 

“Set in a world filled with edges to topple from, [The Safety of Objects] is permeated by the bizarre. . . . The unexpected emerges from the story itself, startling and unexpectedly right.” —The Cleveland Plain Dealer

About the author

A.M. Homes was born in Washington D.C. graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and the University of Iowa, lives in New York City and teaches at Princeton University. Her work appears in ArtForum, Granta, The Guardian, McSweeney's, Modern Painters, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Electric Literature, Playboy, and Zoetrope. She works in television, most recently as as Co-Executive Producer of Falling Water and Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes, and is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair. She is the recipient of awards including the Guggenheim, NEA, and NYFA fellowships. Her most recent novel, May We Be Forgiven, won the Women's Prize for Fiction, 2013, and has been optioned for film by Unanimous Entertainment.

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The Safety of Objects: Stories
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The Safety of Objects: Stories

by Homes, A.M

  • Used
  • Paperback
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Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780143122708 / 0143122703
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Penguin Publishing Group. Used - Good. COVER SHOWS SOME GENERAL WEAR, SUCH AS SCRATCHES, RUBBING, STICKER AND/OR GLUE RESIDUE AND CREASES. Paperback 100% of proceeds go to charity! Good condition with all pages in tact. Item shows signs of use and may have cosmetic defects.
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The Safety of Objects

The Safety of Objects

by A. M. Homes

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Penguin Publishing Group, 2013. Paperback. As New. Disclaimer:An apparently unread copy in perfect condition. Dust cover is intact; pages are clean and are not marred by notes or folds of any kind. At ThriftBooks, our motto is: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
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The Safety of Objects : Stories

The Safety of Objects : Stories

by A. M. Homes

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Penguin Publishing Group, 2013. Paperback. Very Good. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
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The Safety of Objects : Stories

The Safety of Objects : Stories

by A. M. Homes

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  • Paperback
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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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Penguin Publishing Group, 2013. Paperback. Good. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
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The Safety of Objects: Stories [Paperback] Homes, A. M
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The Safety of Objects: Stories [Paperback] Homes, A. M

by Homes, A. M

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Penguin Books, 2013-01-29. Paperback. Very Good. 5x0x7. Nice book. Cover has light wear and there is a remainder mark on the bottom outer page edges.
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The Safety of Objects: Stories
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The Safety of Objects: Stories

by Homes, A.M

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780143122708 / 0143122703
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Random House Books for Young Readers, 2013-01-29. Reprint. paperback. Used: Good. 5.06x0.52x7.75. Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.
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The Safety of Objects : Stories
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The Safety of Objects : Stories

by Homes, A. M

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780143122708 / 0143122703
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Penguin Publishing Group. Used - Good. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.
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The Safety Of Objects
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The Safety Of Objects

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The Safety Of Objects
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The Safety Of Objects

by Homes, A M,

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780143122708 / 0143122703
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The Safety of Objects: Stories
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The Safety of Objects: Stories

by Homes, A.M

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  • Paperback
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New
Edition
Reprint
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Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780143122708 / 0143122703
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Description:
Random House Books for Young Readers, 2013-01-29. Reprint. paperback. New. 5.06x0.52x7.75. Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.
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