In his debut collection How They Were Found, Matt Bell draws from a wide range of genres to create stories that are both formally innovative and imaginatively rich. In one, a 19th-century minister follows ghostly instructions to build a mechanical messiah. In another, a tyrannical army commander watches his apocalyptic command slip away as the memories of his men begin to fade and fail. Elsewhere, murders are indexed, new worlds are mapped, fairy tales are fractured and retold and then fractured again. Throughout these thirteen stories, Bell's careful prose burrows at the foundations of his characters' lives until they topple over, then painstakingly pores over the wreckage for what rubbled humanity might yet remain to be found.
Includes the story Dredge, a Best American Mystery Stories selection, and the story His Last Great Gift, a Best American Short Stories Distinguished Story of 2009 and a Special Mention in the 2010 Pushcart Prize Anthology.
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"This is a very strong collection. Stories that really stood out include "The Cartographer's Girl," "The Receiving Tower," "Dredge," The Leftover," "The Collectors," and "An Index Of How Our Family Was Killed." " — Robert (4 out of 5 stars)
"This is a very strong collection. Stories that really stood out include "The Cartographer's Girl," "The Receiving Tower," "Dredge," The Leftover," "The Collectors," and "An Index Of How Our Family Was Killed." "
" My review of HOW THEY WERE FOUND will appear at the Outsider Writers Collective as soon as I finish the book and write it. Peep it soon at outsiderwriters.org. "
" Fantastic dark/horror/weird collection of short fiction. "
" Won this book from First Reads! There are times when I enjoy reading short stories. This is one good book. I felt like I had completed a book after each story. Even one that was an award winning story. "
" One of the few short story collections I have had trouble putting down. This puts it in line with Drown and Interpreter of Maladies. "
" This is one of the best short story collections I've read in years. I went through a variety of emotions and absolutely loved the play on genres (historical/fable/murder mystery). "
" My book bounty continues! Just received this today and I'm going to start reading it riiiiiiight....now. "
" Review coming up in November issue of The Short Review. "
" Wonderful. I'm reviewing this for a literary journal so will say more later. "
" A good collection of stories, some quite disturbing, yet written with a sense of something that makes it ok. "
" This is a very strong collection. Stories that really stood out include "The Cartographer's Girl," "The Receiving Tower," "Dredge," The Leftover," "The Collectors," and "An Index Of How Our Family Was Killed." "
" Visceral, scalpel sharp placing of words to create people on the edge. Wolf Parts, The Collectors (previously in chapbooks), Dredge, and Her Ennead were particular faves. "
" The stories in this book were strange, dark and amazing. I enjoyed some a lot more than others, but the collection as a whole was fantastic. Glimpses of Bell's skill with prose are evident throughout with passages that absolutely aim to floor you. "
Matt Bell is the author of Cataclysm Baby, a novella, and How They Were Found, a collection of fiction. His fiction has been anthologized in Best American Mystery Stories 2010, Best American Fantasy 2, and 30 under 30: An Anthology of Innovative Fiction by Younger Writers. He serves as senior editor at Dzanc Books and teaches writing at Northern Michigan University.
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