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Mark Brazaitis
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The Incurables: Stories (Richard Sullivan Prize in Short Fiction) Kindle Edition

by Mark Brazaitis (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 out of 5 stars 12 ratings

In his latest collection of literary fiction, Mark Brazaitis evokes with sympathy, insight, and humor the lives of characters in a small Ohio town. The ten short stories of The Incurables limn the mental landscape of people facing conditions they believe are insolvable, from the oppressive horrors of mental illness to the beguiling and baffling complexities of romantic and familial love.

In the book’s opening story, “The Bridge,” a new sheriff must confront a suicide epidemic as well as his own deteriorating mental health. In “Classmates,” a man sets off to visit the wife of a classmate who has killed himself. Is he hoping to write a story about his classmate or to observe the aftermath of what his own suicide attempt, if successful, would have been like? In the title story, a down-on-his-luck porn actor returns to his hometown and winds up in the mental health ward of the local hospital, where he meets a captivating woman. Other stories in the collection include “A Map of the Forbidden,” about a straight-laced man who is tempted to cheat on his wife after his adulterous father dies, and “The Boy behind the Tree,” about a problematic father-son relationship made more so by the arrival on the scene of a young man the son’s age. In “I Return,” a father narrates a story from the afterlife, discovering as he does so that he is not as indispensable to his family as he had believed.

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  1. Part of series
    Richard Sullivan Prize in Short Fiction
  2. Print length
    262 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    University of Notre Dame Press
  5. Publication date
    August 13, 2012
  6. File size
    1.5 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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There are 6 books in this series.
  • Kindle Price:
    $78.95
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"The figures at the centre of Brazaitis's narratives are sometimes lonely or needy or deluded in the extreme; furthermore, their conditions are often contagious, hereditary or irremediable. But laughter is a refuge or a tonic for almost all of them, and even the most agonizing stories in The Incurables are funny . . . [D]eserves a lasting place among regional story cycles..." -- Times Literary Supplement


"The stories in The Incurables are superb." -- Mid-American Review

"In the first story of this collection, the wife of a newly elected sheriff, who is suddenly thrust into a rash of suicides, says, 'It's like a plague of irrationality.' That phrase describes many of the incidents in this series of stories, set in Sherman, Ohio. Subjects and themes are dark: divorce, suicide, depression, insanity; the tone and style are not. The author's bizarre humor and the outrageous plot elements and attitudes about the vagaries of human nature lighten the mood considerably. . . . A fine addition to large short story collections." -- Booklist Online

"There are ten stories in this immensely enjoyable collection, all set in small town Sherman, Ohio. The provincialism creates the allure, with characters who have little experience beyond their locale, but whose struggles are like the many beyond its boundaries. That's especially true when it comes to mental illness and emotionally driven behaviors. If you're depressed, obsessive, delusional or struggling with anger--as are these characters--it doesn't matter where you live." -- _TheLongestChapter.com

About the Author

Mark Brazaitis has published four collections of stories, two novels, and a volume of poetry. His award-winning short stories have appeared in Ploughshares, Witness, The Sun, Cimarron Review, and Confrontation, among other publications, and have been cited in the Pushcart Prize annual and Best American Short Stories volumes. Brazaitis is the director of the West Virginia Writers' Workshop at West Virginia University.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01D4TAWJ2
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of Notre Dame Press; 1st edition (August 13, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 13, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.5 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 262 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 out of 5 stars 12 ratings

About the author

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Mark Brazaitis

Mark Brazaitis

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Mark Brazaitis is the author of nine books, including The River of Lost Voices: Stories from Guatemala, winner of the 1998 Iowa Short Fiction Award, The Incurables: Stories, winner of the 2012 Richard Sullivan Prize and the 2013 Devil’s Kitchen Reading Award in Prose, and the novel American Seasons. His stories, essays, and poems have appeared in The Sun, Ploughshares, Michigan Quarterly Review, Witness, Guernica, Under the Sun, Beloit Fiction Journal, Poetry East, USA Today, and elsewhere. A former Peace Corps Volunteer and technical trainer, he is a professor of English at West Virginia University, where he directs the Creative Writing Program and the West Virginia Writers’ Workshop.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
12 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • B-SideMan
    5.0 out of 5 stars I was drawn into every story and loved the use of a single geographic place
    Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    I was drawn into every story and loved the use of a single geographic place. The stories reveal a particular sort of fractured people who seem to wake up and discover they're forced to be themselves. And they're stuck with it. At some point, they tire of living the life they've chosen, or being the people they've grown up to be. I enjoyed all the stories enormously, and will definitely read another book. Each story feels as though there's been a personal disappointment that came with "not getting out." This comes with interior and exterior consequences, and the characters lean towards a certain risk-taking that won't lead to happiness, in fact their choices seem to inspire regret and worse --- the unfulfilled life. This isn't meant to be a "downer" review. I appreciated all the shades of darkness AND LIGHT that Mark B. created.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars good one
    Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Good one!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Medula
    5.0 out of 5 stars Winesburg . . . Revisited
    Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    If you're a lover of linked-story collections, add this to your collection. A fabulous read, beautifully linked, grounded in place and with recurring characters. Like revisiting Winesburg, Ohio, one hundred years later and finding the town name changed to Sherman and "the grotesques" with a contemporary label. And Sherwood Anderson even turns up, too! Brazaitis's stories never fail to enlighten, amaze, and delight.
    16 people found this helpful
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  • Happy Skeptic
    5.0 out of 5 stars Prize-winning for sure
    Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    As someone who must deal with depression, I felt a kinship both to the author and to the characters in his stories. Insightful, gripping, very human tales that don't shy away from the painful and exhilarating. If it had been twice as long I would have only been half as sad it was over when I finished it.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Tyler C.
    3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    It was alright.
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  • Meron
    1.0 out of 5 stars booo
    Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    morbid and depressing fragmented stories. It reads like diary written by someone as they healed form depression.. not sure it would be useful for somebody who is actually battling depression
    One person found this helpful
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  • Christine D. Fenn
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very satisfied with "The Incurables"
    Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    My experience with ordering "The Incurables" was a good one. It arrived in a short period of time and was in excellent condition, shrinkwrapped, and appeared brand new. I am completely satisfied.
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