Dangerous laughter [electronic resource] : thirteen stories / Steven Millhauser.
The collection is divided into three parts that fit seamlessly together as a whole. It opens with a bang, as "Cat 'n' Mouse" reimagines the deadly ritual between cartoon rivals in a comedy of dynamite and anvils --a masterly prologue that sets the stage for the alluring, very grown-up twists that follow. Part one, "Vanishing Acts," features stories of risk and escape: a lonely woman disappears without a trace; a high school boy becomes entangled with his best friend's troubled sister; and a group of teenagers play a treacherous game that pushes them deep into "the kingdom of forbidden things." Excess reigns in the vivid, haunting places of Part two's "Impossible Architectures," where domes enclose whole cities, and a king's master miniaturist creates objects so tiny that soon his entire world is invisible. Finally, "Heretical Histories" presents startling alternatives to the remembered past. "A Precursor of the Cinema" proposes a new, enigmatic form of illusion. And in the astonishing "The Wizard of West Orange" a famous inventor sets out to simulate the sense of touch -- but success brings disturbing consequences.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780307268730 (electronic bk. : Adobe Digital Editions)
- ISBN: 030726873X (electronic bk. : Adobe Digital Editions)
- ISBN: 9780307268730 (electronic bk. : Mobipocket Reader)
- ISBN: 030726873X (electronic bk. : Mobipocket Reader)
- Physical Description: 244 p. ; 22 cm.
- Edition: 1st ed.
- Publisher: New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2008.
Content descriptions
Formatted Contents Note: | Cat 'n' mouse -- Disappearance of Elaine Coleman -- Room in the attic -- Dangerous laughter -- History of a disturbance -- Dome -- In the reign of Harad IV -- Other town -- Tower -- Here at the historical society -- Change in fashion -- Precursor of the cinema -- Wizard of West Orange. |
Reproduction Note: | Electronic reproduction. New York : Knopf Doubleday Pub. Group, 2008. Requires Adobe Digital Editions (file size: 827 KB) or Mobipocket Reader (file size: 281 KB). |
System Details Note: | Requires OverDrive Media Console |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Compulsive behavior > Fiction. Teenagers > Fiction. Imaginary places > Fiction. |
Genre: | EBOOK. Short stories. Short stories, American. Electronic books. |