Fortune Smiles

A collection of stories that delve deeply into love, loss, the decisions we make for ourselves, and the decisions we mak... (more)

A collection of stories that delve deeply into love, loss, the decisions we make for ourselves, and the decisions we make for others. In post-Katrina Louisiana, a young man and his new girlfriend search for the mother of his son. In Palo Alto, a programmer whose wife has a rare disease finds solace in a digital simulacrum of the recently assassinated President. In contemporary Berlin a former Stasi agent ponders his past. A woman with cancer rages against the idea of her family without her. In the title story, Johnson returns to his signature subject of North Korea, depicting two defectors from Pyongyang trying to adapt to their new lives in Seoul, while one cannot forget the woman he left behind. (less)

""In six masterly stories, Johnson delves deep into love and loss, natural disasters, the influence of technology, and h... (more)

""In six masterly stories, Johnson delves deep into love and loss, natural disasters, the influence of technology, and how the political shapes the personal. 'George Orwell Was a Friend of Mine' follows a former warden of a Stasi prison in East Germany who vehemently denies his past, even as pieces of it are delivered in packages to his door. 'Nirvana' portrays a programmer whose wife has a rare disease finding solace in a digital simulacrum of the president of the United States. In 'Hurricanes Anonymous,' a young man searches for the mother of his son in a Louisiana devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. And in the unforgettable title story, Johnson returns to his signature subject, North Korea, depicting two defectors from Pyongyang who are trying to adapt to their new lives in Seoul, while one cannot forget the woman he left behind."--Provided by publisher. (less)

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his acclaimed novel The Orphan Master's Son, Adam Johnson is one of America's most prov... (more)

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his acclaimed novel The Orphan Master's Son, Adam Johnson is one of America's most provocative and powerful authors. Critics have compared him to Kurt Vonnegut, David Mitchell, and George Saunders, but Johnson's new book will only further his reputation as one of our most original writers. Subtly surreal, darkly comic, both hilarious and heartbreaking, Interesting Facts is a major collection of stories that gives voice to the perspectives we don't often hear, while offering something rare in fiction: a new way of looking at the world.In "George Orwell Was a Friend of Mine," the former warden of a Stasi prison in East Germany vehemently denies his past, even as pieces of it are delivered in mysterious packages to his door. "Nirvana," which won the prestigious Sunday Times short story prize, portrays a world where a programmer whose wife has a rare disease finds solace in a digital simulacrum of the recently assassinated president. "Hurricanes Anonymous," anthologized in The Best American Short Stories, depicts a devastated Louisiana after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Among the collection's unforgettable characters are a young man and his new girlfriend searching for the mother of his son, a computer whiz who helps the police catch criminals while trying to evade detection himself, and, in the stunning title story, a woman with cancer who rages against the idea of her family living on without her.In fantastic and unflinching prose, Adam Johnson delves deep into love and loss, natural disasters and mysterious desires, the decisions we make for ourselves and the decisions we make for others. As unnerving as they are riveting, these stories establish him as a modern master, an indispensable guide to a new century in which the unbelievable has become commonplace.Praise for Adam Johnson's Pulitzer Prize--winning novel, The Orphan Master's Son"Harrowing and deeply affecting . . . In making his hero, and the nightmare he lives through, come so thoroughly alive, Mr. Johnson has written a daring and remarkable novel, a novel that not only opens a frightening window on the mysterious kingdom of North Korea, but one that also excavates the very meaning of love and sacrifice."--Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times"Remarkable . . . a work of high adventure, surreal coincidences and terrible violence, seeming to straddle the line between cinematic fantasy and brutal actuality . . . the single best work of fiction published [this year]."--The Wall Street Journal"A great novel can take implausible fact and turn it into entirely believable fiction. That's the genius of The Orphan Master's Son. Adam Johnson has taken the papier-mâché creation that is North Korea and turned it into a real and riveting place that readers will find unforgettable. . . . Imagine Charles Dickens paying a visit to Pyongyang, and you see the canvas on which Johnson is painting here."--The Washington Post"Adam Johnson has pulled off literary alchemy, first by setting his novel in North Korea, a country that few of us can imagine, then by producing such compelling characters, whose lives unfold at breakneck speed. I was engrossed right to the amazing conclusion. The result is pure gold, a terrific novel."--Abraham Verghese"An epic feat of storytelling."--Zadie Smith"A triumph of imagination . . . [Grade:] A."--Entertainment WeeklyFrom the Hardcover edition. (less)

In six masterly stories, Johnson delves deep into love and loss, natural disasters, the influence of technology, and how... (more)

In six masterly stories, Johnson delves deep into love and loss, natural disasters, the influence of technology, and how the political shapes the personal. (less)