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Simon & Schuster
June 2009
On Sale: June 16, 2009
224 pages ISBN: 1416564268 EAN: 9781416564263 Paperback (reprint)
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Fiction
When Julie Hecht's stories first appeared in The New
Yorker, her unnamed photographer-narrator became an
instant literary icon. Chronicles of her strategies for
surviving civilization's decline -- herbal remedies,
macrobiotics, a bit of Xanax -- have established her as one
of the most captivating and eagerly read voices in modern
literature. In this new collection of stories, Julie
Hecht reclaims the darkly funny, existential territory for
which she is known: "People say 'Good morning,' but don't
believe them. It's just something to say." The uniquely
eccentric narrator reappears in Happy Trails to You
and recounts her perplexed engagements with our society and
the larger world -- whether she's attempting to withdraw
money from a bank machine, worrying about Paul McCartney, or
seeking a nonexistent place of calm on Nantucket, where nail
guns and chain saws have replaced the sounds of birds
singing. Appalled by life in our times, the narrator
recounts innumerable artifacts from a now vanished America
(civility, idealism, Elvis Presley, well-made appliances).
She is also exquisitely attuned to the absurdities of our
culture; her acute observations illuminate every subject,
from the dangers of microwave ovens to the disappearing
ozone layer. With deadpan wit, the author reveals the truths
of a new century. Happy Trails to You is a radically
distinctive work of American fiction.
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