The world doesn't require you : stories / Rion Amilcar Scott.
By: Scott, Rion Amilcar [author.].
Material type: TextPublisher: New York : Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W.W. Norton & Company, [2019]Edition: First edition.Description: 304 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.Content type: text Media type: unmediated Carrier type: volumeISBN: 9781631495380; 1631495380; 9781631497889.Other title: World does not require you.Uniform titles: Short stories. Selections Contained works: Scott, Rion Amilcar. David Sherman, the last son of God | Scott, Rion Amilcar. Nigger knockers | Scott, Rion Amilcar. Electric joy of service | Scott, Rion Amilcar. Temple of practical arts | Scott, Rion Amilcar. Rare and powerful employee | Scott, Rion Amilcar. Numbers | Scott, Rion Amilcar. Loudness of screechers | Scott, Rion Amilcar. Mercury in retrograde | Scott, Rion Amilcar. On the occasion of the death of Freddie Lee | Scott, Rion Amilcar. Slim in hell.Subject(s): FICTION / Short Stories (single author) | FICTION / African American / General | Small cities -- FictionGenre/Form: Short stories. | Short stories.Item type | Current library | Collection | Shelving location | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Book | Ferry Ave. | African American | Adult | F Sco (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | Available | 05000010520984 | |||
Book | Camden Downtown | Fiction | Adult | F Sco (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | Checked out | 05/06/2024 | 05000010377955 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Established by the leaders of the country's only successful slave revolt in the mid-nineteenth century, Cross River still evokes the fierce rhythms of its founding. In lyrical prose and singular dialect, a saga beats forward that echoes the fables carried down for generations--like the screecher birds who swoop down for their periodic sacrifice, and the water women who lure men to wet deaths.
Among its residents--wildly spanning decades, perspectives, and species--are David Sherman, a struggling musician who just happens to be God's last son; Tyrone, a ruthless PhD candidate, whose dissertation about a childhood game ignites mayhem in the neighboring, once-segregated town of Port Yooga; and Jim, an all-too-obedient robot who serves his Master. As the book builds to its finish with Special Topics in Loneliness Studies, a fully-realized novella, two unhinged professors grapple with hugely different ambitions, and the reader comes to appreciate the intricacy of the world Scott has created--one where fantasy and reality are eternally at war.
Contemporary and essential, The World Doesn't Require You is a "leap into a blazing new level of brilliance" (Lauren Groff) that affirms Rion Amilcar Scott as a writer whose storytelling gifts the world very much requires.
David Sherman, the last son of God -- Nigger knockers -- Electric joy of service -- Temple of practical arts -- Rare and powerful employee -- Numbers -- Loudness of screechers -- Mercury in retrograde -- On the occasion of the death of Freddie Lee -- Slim in hell.
"One of Esquire's Most Anticipated Books of 2019 Breathtakingly imaginative and unapologetically original, The World Doesn't Require You announces a bold, generational talent. Deftly spinning genres of his feverish literary invention, Rion Amilcar Scott creates his very own Yoknapatawpha County with fictional Cross River, Maryland. Established by the leaders of America's only successful slave revolt, the town still evokes the fierce rhythms of its founding. Among its residents are David Sherman, a struggling musician who just happens to be God's last son; Tyrone, a ruthless PhD candidate, whose dissertation about a childhood game ignites mayhem in the neighboring, once-segregated town of Port Yooga; and Jim, an all-too-obedient robot who serves his Master. Culminating with an explosive novella, these haunting stories of the denizens of Cross River serve to explore larger themes of religion, violence, and love--all told with sly humor and a dash of magical realism. Shattering rigid literary boundaries, Scott is "a necessary voice in American literature" (PEN Award citation), a writer whose storytelling gifts the world very much requires"--
Table of contents provided by Syndetics
- David Sherman, the Last Son of God (p. 1)
- The Nigger Knockers (p. 22)
- The Electric Joy of Service (p. 43)
- The Temple of Practical Arts (p. 47)
- A Rare and Powerful Employee (p. 73)
- Numbers (p. 76)
- A Loudness of Screechers (p. 92)
- Mercury in Retrograde (p. 96)
- On the Occasion of the Death of Freddie Lee
- Slim in Hell (p. 120)
- Rolling in My Six-Fo'-Daa Daa Daa-with All My Niggas Saying: Swing Down Sweet Chariot Stop and Let Me Riiiide. Hell Yeah. (p. 132)
- Special Topics in Loneliness Studies (p. 155)
- I The Fall (p. 157)
- II Winter Break (p. 179)
- III The Spring; or, Special Topics in Loneliness Studies (p. 205)
- IV An Epilogue (p. 291)