Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower. The most masterful collection of short stories since George Saunders first book.
The Interrogative Mood by Padgett Powell. A novel where every sentence is a question. Sure, it’s less about story, but that voice! Man, it is so amusing and amazing to read. Great fun!
More of This World or Maybe Another by Barb Johnson. Another strong debut collection of stories. Johnson’s heartbroken New Orleans characters will stay with you for a long time.
Kevin Sampsell is the publisher of Future Tense Books. He is also the author of Creamy Bullets and the forthcoming A Common Pornography, which is featured on page 57 of the Jan/Feb 2010 issue of Poets and Writers.
Not that you axed, PF, but one of my favorite books of 2009 was edited by Kevin: the fabulous Portland Noir.
Thank you Mead! Why don’t you just post ALL of your favorite books in a comment – it can be a kind of meta-list! you know we love you…. PF
O, so many. Not all came out in 2009, but….right away I think of Jon Raymond’s Livability, Lydia Davis’ collected stories, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, Pete Dexter’s Spooner, and the luminous and unsettling Live Through This, by Debra Gwartney. Also Portland Queer, edited by Ariel Gore, brimmed with gems.