Typical Stories

Twenty-three surreal fictions—stories, character assassinations, and mini-travelogues—from one of the most heralded writers of the American South
There are many things that repulse “Dr. Ordinary.” “Kansas” is notable for its distinct lack of farmland. “Wayne’s Fate” is most unfortunate, not merely for Wayne but for the roofer pal who stands by watching his good buddy lose his head. “Miss Resignation” simply cannot win at Bingo. And there is nothing “Typical” about the unemployed steelworker and self-described “piece of crud” who strides through this collection’s title story.
Welcome to the world of Padgett Powell, one of the most original American literary voices in recent memory. Typical is both a bravura demonstration of Powell’s passion for words, and an offbeat, perceptive view of contemporary life—an enthralling work by a one-of-a-kind wordsmith, and a redefinition of what short fiction can be. 

Padgett Powell is the author of six novels, including The Interrogative Mood, You & Me, and Edisto, a finalist for the National Book Award; and three story collections. His writing has appeared in the New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, Little Star, and the Paris Review, and he is the recipient of the Rome Fellowship in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, as well as the Whiting Writers’ Award and the James Tait Black Prize in fiction, the UK’s oldest literary award.