Call Me Ahab
A Short Story Collection
Published on 1. September 2009
Book
Paperback/Softback
206 pages
978-0-8032-2533-6 (ISBN)
Description
Imagine a Hollywood encounter between Helen Keller and Frida Kahlo, "two female icons of disability." Or the story of "Moby Dick, or, The Leg," told from Ahab's perspective. What if Vincent Van Gogh resided in a twentieth-century New York hotel, surviving on food stamps and direct communications with God? Or if the dwarf pictured in a seventeenth-century painting by Velazquez should tell her story? And, finally, imagine the encounter between David and Goliath from the Philistine's point of view. These are the characters who people history and myth as counterpoints to the "normal." And they are also the characters who populate Anne Finger's remarkable short stories. Affecting but never sentimental, ironic but never cynical, these wonderfully rich and comic tales reimagine life beyond the margins of "normality."
Reviews / Votes
"Anne Finger's award-winning Call Me Ahab showcases a plethora of historical and literary characters-each of whom is in some way disabled-and imagines new scenarios for their lives. . . . It is a cheering section for the forgotten and under-appreciated and a testament to creativity, whimsy, and intellect."-Eleanor J. Bader, Feminist Review "In this marvelously original collection, Finger explores the nature and function of legendary outcasts, from Goliath, initially ridiculed for his giantism before he became a savior of the Philistines, to Vincent Van Gogh, tortured madman and impoverished artist caught in a bureaucratic vacuum as he waits for his Social Security benefits. . . . Brisk, inventive and intelligent, these stories do their own thing, and do it well."-Publishers Weekly "Finger's unabashedly bold tales creatively reimagine outcasts real and invented."-Leah Strauss, Booklist "Finger is a talented storyteller, delivering voices and situations with smooth conviction. The scenes she creates jump time and place without jarring the reader. . . . Finger has strength in her storytelling, and hopefully that strength will reach a wide audience."-Amy Halloran, themillions.com "A fascinating glimpse into the varieties of human difference."-Ben Hamilton, PopMatters.com "Refusing to smooth over the idiosyncrasies of history and human life, she has, instead, successfully written her text with them."-Alyssa Pelish, Rain TaxiMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Nebraska
United States
Publishing group
University of Nebraska Press
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 218 mm
Width: 141 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
249 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8032-2533-6 (9780803225336)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Anne Finger has taught creative writing at Wayne State University in Detroit and at the University of Texas at Austin. She is the author of several books, including Bone Truth: A Novel; Basic Skills: A Short Story Collection; and the memoir Elegy for a Disease: A Personal and Cultural History of Polio.
Content
Acknowledgments
Helen and Frida
Vincent
The Artist and the Dwarf
Comrade Luxemburg and Comrade Gramsci Pass Each Other at a Congress of the Second International in Switzerland on the 10th of March, 1912
Gloucester
Goliath
The Blind Marksman
Our Ned
Moby Dick, or, The Leg
Helen and Frida
Vincent
The Artist and the Dwarf
Comrade Luxemburg and Comrade Gramsci Pass Each Other at a Congress of the Second International in Switzerland on the 10th of March, 1912
Gloucester
Goliath
The Blind Marksman
Our Ned
Moby Dick, or, The Leg