Sarahland : stories / Sam Cohen.
Material type:
TextPublisher: New York : Grand Central Publishing, 2021Copyright date: ©2021Edition: First editionDescription: 199 pages ; 22 cmContent type: - text
- unmediated
- volume
- 9781538735060
- 1538735067
- Short stories. Selections
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
|
Main Library | Fiction | COHEN, SAM | Available | 33111010488365 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
"Queer, dirty, insightful, and so funny" (Andrea Lawlor), this coyly revolutionary debut story collection imagines new origins and futures for its cast of unforgettable protagonists--almost all of whom are named Sarah.
FINALIST FOR THE GOLDEN POPPY AWARD FOR FICTION
NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2021 BY THE MILLIONS * OPRAH MAGAZINE * LAMBDA LITERARY * ELECTRIC LITERATURE * REFINERY29 * COSMO * THE ADVOCATE * ALMA * PAPERBACK PARIS * WRITE OR DIE TRIBE * READS RAINBOW
In Sarahland , Sam Cohen brilliantly and often hilariously explores the ways in which traditional stories have failed us, both demanding and thrillingly providing for its cast of Sarahs new origin stories, new ways to love the planet and those inhabiting it, and new possibilities for life itself. In one story, a Jewish college Sarah passively consents to a form-life in pursuit of an MRS degree and is swept into a culture of normalized sexual violence. Another reveals a version of Sarah finding pleasure--and a new set of problems--by playing dead for a wealthy necrophiliac. A Buffy-loving Sarah uses fan fiction to work through romantic obsession. As the collection progresses, Cohen explodes this search for self, insisting that we have more to resist and repair than our own personal narratives. Readers witness as the ever-evolving "Sarah" gets recast: as a bible-era trans woman, an aging lesbian literally growing roots, a being who transcends the earth as we know it. While Cohen presents a world that will clearly someday end, "Sarah" will continue.
In each Sarah's refusal to adhere to a single narrative, she potentially builds a better home for us all, a place to live that demands no fixity of self, no plague of consumerism, no bodily compromise, a place called Sarahland .
"In SARAHLAND, Sam Cohen brilliantly (and often hilariously) explores the ways in which traditional stories have failed us, giving its cast of Sarahs new origin stories, new ways to love the planet and those inhabiting it, and new possibilities for life itself. In one story, a Jewish college girl named Sarah suffers from passively consenting to a form-life devoted to getting one's "mrs." degree. Yet another reveals a version of Sarah finally finding peace with her favorite local necrophiliac. A Buffy-loving Sarah continues her misguided search for self in a twin-- while probing fan culture. As the collection progresses, Cohen explodes this search for self, insisting that we have more to resist and repair than our own personal narrative. Readers watch as the ever-evolving "Sarah" gets recast: as a biblical trans woman, a lesbian literally growing roots, a being who transcends the earth as we know it. While Cohen presents a world that will clearly someday end, "Sarah" will continue. In each Sarah's refusal to adhere to a single narrative, she might even help build a better home for all of us, a place to live that demands no fixity of self, no plague of consumerism, no bodily compromise, a place called SARAHLAND"-- Provided by publisher.
Sarahland -- Naked furniture -- Exorcism, or eating my twin -- Dream palace -- The first Sarah -- Gemstones -- Gossip -- Becoming trees -- All the teenaged Sarahs -- The purple epoch.