The Architect of Flowers
The Architect of Flowers (Paperback)
$14.00
Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Description
The stories in William Lychack’s dazzling new collection, The Architect of Flowers, explore the dear and inevitable distance between people in loving relationships and find hope in dark situations. With tiny, precise details, Lychack observes the overlooked moments of everyday life—the small failings between parents and children, the long-held secrets in married life.
A small-town policeman brings himself to shoot a family’s injured dog; an old woman secretly trains a crow to steal for her; a hybridizer’s wife discovers the perfect lie to bring her family magically together again. Lychack’s characters yearn to re-enchant the world, to turn the ordinary and profane into the sacred and beautiful again, to make beauty serve as an antidote to grief. From ghostwriter to ghost runners to ghosts in a chapel, these stories are extraordinary portraits of life’s tender humiliations as well as its sharp, rude jolts.
About the Author
WILLIAM LYCHACK is the author of the novel The Wasp Eater. His work has appeared in The Best American Short Stories and The Pushcart Prize, and on public radio’s This American Life.
Praise for The Architect of Flowers…
"[Lychak's] pieces cover an impressive range of emotional and imaginative territory... The disciplined storytelling and barbed wit strike a fine balance."
-Kirkus Reviews
- Margot Livesey, The House on Fortune Street "The Architect of Flowers is a stunning collection. Each story is like a brilliant dream, evanescent, yet managing to linger in all the senses long after the last page has been turned. It is a poetry of narrative rarely ever found in fiction."
- Mary McGarry Morris, The River Queen "Derek Walcott says he writes verse in the hope of writing poetry. Something similar might be said about the fiction in William Lychack's THE ARCHITECT OF FLOWERS. The prose rises to a level of intense lyricism that distinguishes this lovely, artful collection."
- Stuart Dybek, Sailed With Magellan "The small failings between parents and children, the long-held secrets in married lives, the darkening of old age interrupted unexpected flashes of hope: with the hand of a master, William Lychack searches out the ignored moments of ordinary life and burnishes them into treasures. This collection is a treasury. I loved it."
- Vestal McIntyre, You Are Not The One
CHARLOTTE ROGAN: The Lifeboat (Spirit) · Wed., May 23, 7pm
The Lifeboat is a page-turning novel of hard choices and survival, narrated by a woman as unforgettable and complex as the events she describes. READ MORE>
MICKY WARD: A Warrior's Heart (Andover) · Thursday, May 31, 7pm
In his own words, "Irish" Micky Ward tells his inspirational life story as only he can. We are thrilled to have Micky sharing that story at the Andover Bookstore. Please join us for this truly spectacular event! READ MORE >
STEPHANIE REENTS: The Kissing List (Andover) · Friday, June 1, 7pm
THe interlocking stories in The Kissing List feature an unforgettable group of young women as their lives connect, first during a year abroad at Oxford, then later as they move to New York on the cusp of adulthood. READ MORE >
Upcoming Events
- CHARLOTTE ROGAN: "The Lifeboat" (Spirit)(4 hours)
- MICKY WARD: "A Warrior's Heart" (Andover)(8 days)
- STEPHANIE REENTS: "The Kissing List" (Andover)(9 days)
- YANA BARTON will read from "SuperDad!" (Andover)(16 days)
- JARRETT J. KROSOCZKA: "Lunch Lady and the Mutant Mathletes" (Book Rack)(31 days)
- JOHN FOX presents "The Ball: Discovering the Object of the Game" (Book Rack)(36 days)
- Samuel Forman: "Dr. Joseph Warren: The Boston Tea Party, Bunker Hill, and the Birth of American Liberty" (Spirit/Abbot)(49 days)
- JENNIFER RICHARD JACOBSON: "Small as an Elephant" (Book Rack)(52 days)
- ELAINE TAMMI & KARIN A. TAMMI present "Scallops: A New England Coastal Cookbook" (Book Rack)(64 days)
- GREGORY MONE: "Dangerous Waters: An Adventure on the Titanic" (Book Rack)(66 days)
- TOM FITZGERALD: "Poor Richard's Lament" (Spirit/Abbot)(70 days)
Search Books & Phillips Academy Gift Items
Phillips Academy Andover E-Store
Click to shop for
Phillips Academy Andover clothing and gifts
Google eBooks are here!
Search Google eBooks
View your shopping cart.
