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Chanelle Benz
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The Man Who Shot Out My Eye Is Dead: Stories Kindle Edition

by Chanelle Benz (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 out of 5 stars 69 ratings

*LONGLISTED FOR THE 2018 PEN/ROBERT W. BINGHAM PRIZE FOR DEBUT FICTION*

*SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2018 WILLIAM SAROYAN INTERNATIONAL PRIZE FOR WRITING*

Named a Best Book of 2017 by The San Francisco Chronicle

Named one of Electric Literature’s 15 Best Short Story Collections of 2017

A stunningly original debut collection about lives across history marked by violence and longing.

A brother and sister turn outlaw in a wild and brutal landscape. The daughter of a diplomat disappears and resurfaces across the world as a deadly woman of many names. A young Philadelphia boy struggles with the contradictions of privilege, violence, and the sway of an incarcerated father. A monk in sixteenth century England suffers the dissolution of his monastery and the loss of all that he held sacred.

The characters in The Man Who Shot Out My Eye Is Dead, Benz's wildly imaginative debut, are as varied as any in recent literature, but they share a thirst for adventure which sends them rushing full-tilt toward the moral crossroads, becoming victims and perpetrators along the way. Riveting, visceral, and heartbreaking, Benz’s stories of identity, abandonment, and fierce love come together in a daring, arresting vision.

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  1. Print length
    234 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Ecco
  4. Publication date
    January 17, 2017
  5. File size
    2.8 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Chanelle Benz conjures startling, amazing worlds out of her fierce and wild imagination, out of her hard-cut sentences and through her strange and original characters. Her wicked intelligence and electric talent are evident in everything she writes.

-- "Dana Spiotta, author of Eat the Document and Innocents and Others"

An ambitious book that marks Benz as a writer to watch.

-- "Kirkus Reviews"

The collection explores violence, identity, and otherness in sharply observed, fiercely eloquent prose.

-- "Publishers Weekly"

These lyrical stories capture the urgency of lives lived with daring and concern for others.

-- "Booklist"

In every one of these dazzlingly varied stories, Chanelle Benz steps out on to a new stylistic tightrope. Among the many gifts she uses to arrive at the other end, the moved and transformed reader in tow, are: narrative velocity, true prose strangeness, an exuberant sense of play, and tremendous heart. A riveting new voice in American fiction.

-- "George Saunders, author of Tenth of December"

Yes to Chanelle Benz and the skill, fluency and panache with which her voices interrogate and elevate narrative. There's lots more I could say about these brilliant stories, but you'll find out all about it and get your own joy when you read them.

-- "Helen Oyeyemi, author of Boy, Snow, Bird and What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours"

From the Back Cover

In ten stories of impressive range, Chanelle Benz displays a staggering command of craft as she crisscrosses through time and space, from a sixteenth-century English monastery to the Wild West, to a modern-day blighted inner city, creating a complex mosaic of humanity. The characters in Benz’s wildly imaginative collection are as varied as any in recent literature, subverting boundaries of race, gender, and class, but they share a thirst for adventure, which sends them rushing toward moral crossroads, becoming victims and perpetrators along the way. Riveting, visceral, and heartbreaking, these stories of identity, abandonment, and fierce love come together in a daring, arresting vision. Benz emerges on the scene as an indomitable talent and a brilliant new literary force.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01ER6LIX0
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ecco; Reprint edition (January 17, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 17, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.8 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 234 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 out of 5 stars 69 ratings

About the author

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Chanelle Benz

Chanelle Benz

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Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
69 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book's stories delightfully complex and well-written. They appreciate the pacing, with one customer describing it as breathtaking.

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4 customers mention "Story complexity"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the stories in the book delightful and complex, with one customer describing it as one of the best collections of short stories they've read.

"...While all of the stories are complete in and of themselves others seem like they could fit perfectly as part of a much longer work...." Read more

"A wide variety of stories. Complex and troubled relationships. What is the moral course of action when faced with outrageous circumstances?" Read more

"...She really inhabits those characters. They're vivid and complex always with a clear emotional logic behind every action they take...." Read more

"...I was kind of overwhelmed by how good each story was. And none of them is the same. Each one is delightfully complex and rich in its own way...." Read more

3 customers mention "Pacing"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the pacing of the book, with one describing it as breathtaking and vivid, while another finds it rich in its own way.

"...a second time to savor the stories as they unfurled like brilliant silk scarves...." Read more

"...She really inhabits those characters. They're vivid and complex always with a clear emotional logic behind every action they take...." Read more

"...Each one is delightfully complex and rich in its own way...." Read more

3 customers mention "Writing quality"3 positive0 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book.

"...each page twice of the first 3 or 4 stories because the prose was jarringly original and breathtaking...." Read more

"Very dark short stories and well written." Read more

"Great Reading..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • BigOrangeDave
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great Reading
    Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    The first story takes place in the old west. The language and writing is that of an illiterate girl taking off with her older brother. He is coming to rescue his little sister sort of.

    The second-story moves to North Carolina in a time that is not quite clear and in the language of young girls taught in a boarding school. They are there to rescue an old lady and confident from spinsterhood sort of.

    The third story moves to the south at a more current Time . Chasing her father on behalf of her mother being "helped" by her stepbrother who happens to be her son's father results in an ending unlike either of the first.

    And I am totally hooked on this writer.

    Remaining stories range from medieval times to an indeterminate future. The voices range from that of a female terrorist to an abused boy to a monk to a freed slave. In each case, the dialogue and the writing shifts to an authentic representation of that time, place and person. While all of the stories are complete in and of themselves others seem like they could fit perfectly as part of a much longer work.

    And the title of the book actually comes into play in two different stories, sort of…

    Enjoy! I did!
    8 people found this helpful
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  • Kindle Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting book
    Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    A wide variety of stories. Complex and troubled relationships. What is the moral course of action when faced with outrageous circumstances?
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Gloria V. Hayes
    5.0 out of 5 stars What a talent.
    Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    I'm shook, rattled and rolled. I love short story anthologies and have read the best of them, but this was a completely new and staggering collection. I read each page twice of the first 3 or 4 stories because the prose was jarringly original and breathtaking. Then I'd read it through a second time to savor the stories as they unfurled like brilliant silk scarves. The dialogue crackled or sang or whispered along without a single misstep. I purposely stopped myself from reading the entire book in one sitting but it doesn't matter because they're all percolating inside my head quite amiably and will continue to do so for awhile. I'll definitely be picking this delightful smorgasbord of stories off my shelf to taste and breathe and palpate every nuance repeatedly for years to come. This kind of writing comes along very infrequently and I'll be waiting impatiently for this author's every work.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • BV
    5.0 out of 5 stars Really really enjoyed this book
    Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Really really enjoyed this book! The fact that it's a book of short stories is especially interesting to me mainly because it allows Benz to move through many different styles, eras, and characters. She really inhabits those characters. They're vivid and complex always with a clear emotional logic behind every action they take. Even though I didn't agree with a decision, or even WANT a character to make the choices they make, I totally understand each move. You might think you can't get emotionally invested in short stories, but, if you're like me, you'll find yourself suddenly yelling "NO" at a page. A few of my favorites are "West of the Known," "James III," and "Orrinda Thomas".
    6 people found this helpful
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  • patrick
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Very dark short stories and well written.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Ronnie Tyler
    2.0 out of 5 stars Take the hype with caution.
    Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    A disappointing collection that felt fragmented and somewhat unfinished in several of the stories. This book and I just didn’t get along very well.
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  • Amazon Customer
    1.0 out of 5 stars One Star
    Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Not as good as advertised
    One person found this helpful
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  • Dan
    5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books of short stories I have read. And I've read a LOT of short stories.
    Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I didn't know what to expect from this first collection from a newcomer. I was kind of overwhelmed by how good each story was. And none of them is the same. Each one is delightfully complex and rich in its own way. Ms. Benz's facility with language and idiom from many eras is really remarkable, very convincing. I loved this book!
    6 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • MJA
    5.0 out of 5 stars Now read this!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 27, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    A captivating collection of short stories which I thoroughly recommend. Can't wait for the forthcoming novel! and more!
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