The Invisibles: Stories (Flannery O'Connor Award For Short Fiction Ser.)

Though Hugh Sheehy's often tragic, sometimes gruesome stories feature bloodied knives and mysterious disappearances, at the heart of these thoughtful thrillers are finely crafted character studies of people who wrestle with the darker aspects of human nature: grief, violence, loneliness, and the thoughts of crazed minds. Sheehy's stories shine a spotlight on the bleak fringes of America, giving voice to the invisibles who need it most. A dismal assistant teacher spiking her coffee after school is suddenly locked in a basement with a student who has just witnessed his father's murder. A seventeen-year-old girl at a skate rink whose name no one can remember is motherless, friendless, and sure she will be the next to go. The heartbroken victim of a miscarriage dreams of her fetus's voyage through the earth's plumbing. The estranged addict son, certain of his innate goodness, loses himself in a blizzard and fails his family again. Sheehy's characters learn that, however invisible they may feel and whatever their intentions, their actions incur a cost both to themselves and those around them. "A little violence goes a long way and the lurking fear at the heart of these stories elevates them beyond the merely promising to reveal a wicked new talent." —Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Fresh yet deeply knowing . . . In his flawless, fluid, droll, and suspenseful tales of deceptively routine lives, Sheehy dramatizes loneliness, terror, and loss with arresting restraint, focusing on the percussive aftermath of violence. A writer of evocative subtlety and uncanny power . . . Sheehy reveals what's hidden in plain sight to clarion effect." —Booklist (starred review) "Left behind, the characters in The Invisibles try to make sense of what remains. . . . You'll remember them all—Sheehy's finely crafted genre-bending mash-up of thrillers, fairy tales, realism and children's stories makes sure of it." —Atlanta Journal-Constitution "Sheehy’s stories seem to glow in the dark, and reading them feels a little like watching fireflies light up at night. . . . Besides being engaging, Sheehy’s thrillers are original, warped additions to what can sometimes feel like an all-too-familiar and predictable genre." —The Rumpus ?Sheehy’s stories combine psychological nuance and evocative atmospheres with the grimmest of crimes as he considers the many ways we become invisible to others and even to ourselves.' —Kansas City Star HUGH SHEEHY’s stories have appeared in such publications as Five Points, Cincinnati Review, Kenyon Review, Glimmer Train, Antioch Review, Crazyhorse, and Copper Nickel. He teaches creative writing and literature at Ramapo College of New Jersey. Cover design: Kaelin Chappell Broaddus Cover photo: © sirylok | veer.com Author photo: Liz Ligon The University of Georgia Press Athens, Georgia 30602 www.ugapress.org ISBN 978-0-8203-4828-5

• | Author: Hugh Sheehy
• | Publisher: University Of Georgia Press
• | Publication Date: Mar 15, 2015
• | Number of Pages: 192 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback
• | ISBN-10: 0820348287
• | ISBN-13: 9780820348285