“Erdrich is a true original… [and] one of our major writers: She illuminates large swaths of U.S. history and culture, and [ The Red Covertible ] is a good demonstration of her compelling stylistic innovations, not to mention her literary cunning.” — Washington Post Book World From New York Times bestselling author Louise Erdrich, fresh off her acclaimed Pulitzer-Prize finalist The Plague of Doves , comes The Red Convertible , a stunning collection of short stories selected by the author herself from over three decades of work. A veritable masterclass in the art of short fiction, The Red Convertible features 31 previously published stories and 5 never-before-published pieces. Presented in one collection for the first time, the stories of The Red Convertible cement Louise Erdich’s position in the pantheon of consummate, innovative writers of the American short story alongside such luminaries as Flannery O’Connor and Charles Baxter. In this retrospective anthology, Louise Erdrich interweaves history, myth, tragedy, comedy, earthiness, spirituality, sensitivity, and violence—creating a "magnificent feast" from this "all-you-can-eat buffet of stories" ( Baltimore Sun ). Critics praised Erdrich's wry humor, vivid, lyrical language, and extraordinary ability to distill entire lives and family histories into a few pages. Fans of Erdrich will welcome old friends such as Gerry Nanapush, Margaret Kashpaw, and Fleur Pillager, while newcomers will find these stories a warm and hospitable place to start. Though the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel considered her newer stories less compelling—partly because of the absence of Erdrich's poetic Native American characters and settings—the other critics enjoyed them. These powerful, evocative stories are an eloquent tribute to Erdrich's career to date. Copyright 2009 Bookmarks Publishing LLC *Starred Review* This collection spanning 30 years brings together for the first time the inventive Erdrich’s short stories, many of which provided the groundwork for her dozen novels. Of the 36 stories included, most have been previously published, but there are also 6 new tales. The stories are laid out in chronological order and give readers the full breadth of Erdrich’s meticulously drawn world, one on a par with Faulkner’s fictional Yoknapatawpha County, although for Erdrich, the theme of endurance takes on a special significance, placed as it is within the context of an Ojibwa reservation in North Dakota, where Native Americans struggle mightily to prevent the decimation of their culture. Like Faulkner, Erdrich combines a supple, poetic style with a vividly realized setting and unforgettable characters, often setting up complex, interlocking narratives. Readers familiar with her novels will be stunned once again by the sheer virtuosity of her storytelling. Here, on rich display, are characters from the principal families in Erdrich’s world as well as those who haunt them: sadistic Sister Leopolda, the pie-making Kashpaw sisters and their alcoholic men, enigmatic Fleur Pillager, the bingo-playing Lipsha Morrissey, and aged and comical wise man Nanapush and his stubborn wife, Margaret. Erdrich effortlessly conveys her characters’ earthy humor, drunken despair, and ever-present spirituality, making their struggles at once particular and universal. What makes Erdrich such a mesmerizing storyteller, though, is the way she so fearlessly explores and expresses human emotion. A must-have for serious fiction collections. --Joanne Wilkinson “Few American writers write with more lyrical tenderness and magical power” - Wall Street Journal “These tales, like the shining car in the title story, have a velocity all their own.” - O magazine “A wondrous short story writer . . . creating a keepsake of the American experience. . . . A master tuner of the taut emotions that keen between parent and child, man and woman, brother and sister, man and beast. . . . With great delicacy, Erdrich handles the emotions of indelicate people, as they’re tripped up by the uneven terrain of their lives. [She] chronicles Native American ways, but also captures the voices of multitudes.” - New York Times Book Review “A collection of brave and inventive stories.” - Ms. magazine “Erdrich is a true original. . . . The myths and traditions of a people, whether Chippewa or German, inform the rich cadences of her storytelling. . . . Erdrich is one of our major writers: She illuminates large swaths of U.S. history and culture, and this volume is a good demonstration of her compelling stylistic innovations, not to mention her literary cunning.” - Washington Post Book World “Erdrich is one of our major writers...and this volume is a good demonstration of her compelling stylistic innovations, not to mention her literary cunning.” - Washington Post Book World “Culled from 30 years as one of America’s most distinctive fictional voices . . . 36 affecting and inventive stories that dance around the Faulknerian world