Meeting across the river : stories inspired by the haunting Bruce Springsteen song / edited by Jessica Kaye and Richard J. Brewer.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Kaye, Jessica.

Brewer, Richard (Richard J.)

Springsteen, Bruce.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Short stories, American.

United States--Social life and customs--Fiction.

United States.

Manners and customs.

Genre:

Short stories, American.

Fiction.

Physical Description:

xiii, 206 pages ; 21 cm

Edition:

First U.S. edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Bloomsbury : Distributed to the trade by Holtzbrinck Publishers, 2005.

Summary:

"Meeting Across the River," from Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run album, is a song with an evocative melody and lyrics that unfold like a noir fable. A man down on his luck but desperate to make things right with his girl tells his buddy, Eddie, that they have to get across the river for a last-chance meeting with someone, all in the hopes of a big score: two grand. With that money, our hero can win back his girl and all will be right with the world-but if he and Eddie screw up, the consequences will be grave.

Authors including Pam Houston, C. J. Box, Eric Garcia, David Corbett, Gregg Hurwitz, and Steve Hamilton, among others, have written imaginative, heartbreaking, funny, and bold stories based on this classic American story of hope and despair, each a surprisingly different experiment with character and plot. For as familiar as this story is, Springsteen's spare lyrics leave much unsaid. How these authors fill in the absences is what makes this collection such an unusual treasure, proving that, just as with music, in literature no two performances are alike.

Contents:

"Meeting Across the River" / Bruce Springsteen ix

"Meeting Across the River" / Eric Garcia 1

"The Far Side of the River" / William Kent Krueger 19

"Cherry Looks Back" / Pam Houston 35

"Pirates of Yellowstone" / C. J. Box 41

"The Real Thing" / Gregg Hurwitz 53

"A Little Early in the Day" / Michael John Richardson 59

"Crossing Over" / Randy Michael Signor 65

"Keeping It Good" / Richard J. Brewer 71

"One Fast Packard" / Steve Hamilton 77

"Killing Time by the River Styx" / Peter David 91

"Last Call" / Eddie Muller 101

"The Other Side" / Aimee Liu 111

"Claustrophobia" / Philip Reed 117

"Payday" / Barbara Seranella 133

"Mosquito Incense" / Cara Black 139

"Bobby the Prop Buys In" / David Corbett 147

"In the Midnight Hour" / Paul Charles 169

"Lovers in the Cold" / Wallace Stroby 179

"Trumpet Blues" / Anthony Rudel 193

Coda:"Drink to Long Life" / Jessica Kaye 199.

ISBN:

1582342830

OCLC:

57682479

Publisher Number:

9781582342832