 |
"As
he proves emphatically with his new collection, Friday Afternoon
and Other Stories, T.D. Johnston is clearly one of the modern
masters of the short story."—James
Dodson, Editor, O. Henry Magazine and
PineStraw
Magazine
•
"The short story is a uniquely powerful form,
and T.D. Johnston has harnessed that power to stunning effect.
The prose of this collection paints like John Updike and boxes
like Norman Mailer upon the page. If it’s true that Raymond
Carver’s arrival revitalized the short story’s place in American
literature, then with this collection a torch has been passed to
a new master of the form." — James
Goertel, author of
Carry Each
His Burden
•
"This collection of short stories proves
without doubt that T.D. Johnston is one of the finest voices of
contemporary short fiction. These stories are filled with wit,
pathos, and compassion. Johnston skillfully leads his readers
through the sometimes murky moral landscape of life to which we
all can relate. Always firmly in control of where he wants to
take us, he never leaves us disappointed."— Ray
Morrison, author of
In a World
of Small Truths
•
"This superb collection proves that true
suspense derives from moral choices. T.D. Johnston is a
mesmerizing storyteller." —
Martin
McCaw, author, winner of the Global Short Story Prize
•
"Storyteller T.D. Johnston is a closer. He
knows the secret that some writers never learn – that a great
story demands a great ending. Some of his endings are
deliciously open – almost like new beginnings – while others are
as shocking and final as a door slammed in your face. In story
after tantalizing story, Johnston sends his variously-flawed
characters wobbling down the brutal balance beam of human
existence – building tension as they go – then sticks his
landing like an Olympic gymnast. Only then do we realize we’ve
been holding our breath... and sometimes holding back tears."—
Margaret Evans, Editor,
Lowcountry
Weekly
•
"T.D. Johnston boldly explores a wide range
of both subject matter and genre, with masterful attention to
the old-age elements of good writing."— Pat
Conroy, author of
The Prince
of Tides
•
"T.D. Johnston, champion and master of the
short story, focuses his artful eye on the American experience
in a way that reveals the many facets of our souls. "— Eric
M. Witchey, winner of multiple awards for short fiction
•
"Lucky is the person who holds this book, for
the pages inside bubble with danger, excitement, compassion, and
humanity. T.D. Johnston’s fiction will undoubtedly change how a
reader sees and thinks. A needed literary voice."— Mathieu
Cailler, author of
Loss
Angeles
•
"You come home from a day of no surprises,
thinking you’ll just relax with a hot drink and something
amusing to read. But then you pick up a short story from T.D.
Johnston instead and, almost immediately, you’re knocked off
balance. It’s just an insistent little nudge at first, but the
nudges get more and more insistent, along with the knot forming
in your stomach. You never see the end that’s coming because it
sneaks in around a corner where you never thought to look. T.D.
Johnston isn’t just a master of suspense. He’s a master of
surprise." — Susan
Mary Dowd, author of
The Yard
•
"This is an important collection. Powerful,
provocative, and significant. To read a T.D. Johnston story is
to plunge head first into the world of unforgettable characters,
3-D experiences, and stunning surprises."— Marjorie
Brody, award-winning author and Pushcart Prize nominee, author
of the psychological suspense novel,
Twisted
•
"There are unspoken tributes in these stories
of T.D. Johnston: O. Henry and Ray Bradbury and John Cheever
come satisfyingly to my mind. But these moving stories are all
Johnston’s own, in voice and style and innovation of the genre
he has done so much to revive with his inspired Short Story
America. From the intensely human, wise but challenged Stan in
"A Game of Chess" to the speeding and slow-to-understand CEO in
"Friday Afternoon," we’re all here in this book. And we’ve got
to feel, as happens with the best of short stories, that at the
end we may be surprised, even shamed, but we’ve been instructed,
too: the best fiction inspires and teaches. It changes us for
the better."— Gregg
Cusick, author, winner of the Lorian Hemingway Prize for Short
Fiction
•
"The stories in T.D. Johnston’s Friday
Afternoon and Other Stories showcase the author’s
compassionate attention to emotional details, the vigor of his
storytelling, and the rich variety in his voices, style, and
subject matter—all crackling with the tension between hope and
despair." — Paul
Elwork, author of
The Girl
Who Would Speak for the Dead
•
"T.D. Johnston’s collection feels at once
classic and fresh. Each story is its own world, immediate and
enjoyable. Through his work at Short Story America, he has
invigorated a community of writers, and this collection is a
wonderful testament to his own mastery of the short story form."
— Alex
Myers, author of Revolutionary (Simon & Schuster).
•
"At the present historical moment, T.D.
Johnston may be the short story’s best friend. A scholar of the
form and a dedicated anthologist, he is foremost a storyteller,
and the short form is his specialty. Whether evoking the Civil
War or a contemporary moment, his eye for the precise, essential
detail grounds his characters’ experience in dilemmas and
settings a reader is pleased to enter. His perspective is
ultimately warm and humane, and it settles gracefully on men,
women, boys and girls, in an invigorating array of
circumstances. His growing body of work is a heartening
testimony to the medium of short fiction."— Richard
Hawley, author of
The
Headmaster’s Papers
•
"Friday Afternoon and Other Stories is
an impressive debut. In this collection, Johnston channels
masters of short form fiction such as Raymond Carver, Flannery
O’Connor, and William Gay, while writing fully original stories
in his own voice. Start with "The Errand," continue with "Friday
Afternoon," and then enjoy the rest of the wild and satisfying
ride." — Evan
Kuhlman, author of Wolf Boy and
The Last
Invisible Boy
•
"Friday Afternoon and Other Stories
lends
great honor to an American literary tradition. Through lean,
active prose, with no time to spare, we are driven straight to
the heart of the matter. We’re shown how damaged characters
grapple with exterior pressures while clawing through the grim
and gritty landscapes of their inner worlds, and who by doing
so, teach us to become more compassionate creatures."
–Jodi
Paloni, author of
They Could
Live with Themselves
•
"Once, while in West Hollywood discussing a
series, an entertainment lawyer lamented, ‘You just don’t see
quality material being delivered by authors with the style of a
Rod Serling or Richard Matheson anymore.’ Well, thanks, T.D.
Johnston, for putting that myth to rest. With this collection of
well-crafted, powerful tales, Johnston provides satisfying hope
to those of us who love excellent short stories." — Mark
Hunt, Film Producer and Grammy Nominee, Tom Dowd and
The Language of Music
•
"T.D. Johnston’s compassion for his
characters is compelling and crucial to understanding people
much like ourselves. Unique in its look at cruelty in the guise
of conformity to the rules of the workplace, home place or road,
Friday Afternoon and Other Stories is a tour de force
that will stay with you for a very long time." — Warren
Slesinger, award-winning author, poet, and retired senior editor
of the University of South Carolina Press
•
"Erudite doomsters be damned. Friday
Afternoon and Other Stories is proof positive that the
Southern Gothic tradition - and the short story as an art form -
are still alive and kicking. Highly recommended." — Rolli,
author of
God’s
Autobio
•
"This collection by T.D. Johnston settles the
reader in a comfortable easy chair and then proceeds to prick
him with electrifying barbs, pelt him with bizarre happenings,
or turn time and place upside down. In some cases, such as the
opening story, "The Errand," we stay within normal boundaries,
with the protagonist’s anxiety brilliantly rendered. The theme
of finding purpose in life is a leitmotif throughout,
whether in the eerie "Friday Afternoon," in which a narcissistic
and arrogant CEO of a floor-covering company gets his
comeuppance, or in "A Morning Along the Way," in which a black
teenage girl selects a boy because he will escape their Southern
town and go to college, an ambition she shares. There are also
some satirical and unforgettable Orwellian stories ("The
Closing" and "Sixth Period"), set in a future where college
degrees are sold to the highest bidder ("The Closing") and, in
"Sixth Period," the seven deadly sins have been reduced by
Congress to six: greed has been deleted by law because it is
deemed an attribute. "A Game of Chess," a particular favorite of
mine, is a moving diary narrative of a janitor whose character
gains inner strength by story’s end. Johnston’s characters are
often familiar—either like us or someone we know—but each gains
uniqueness through his versatile storytelling."— Laury
A. Egan, author of Fog and Other Stories and Jenny
Kidd
|
 |
|
|
