Revenge of the Lawn: Stories 1962-1970

Description

Revenge of the Lawn is Richard Brautigan in miniature and contains no fewer than 62 ultra-short stories set mainly in Tacoma, Washington (where the author grew up) and in the flower-powered San Francisco of the late fifties and early sixties. In their compacted form, which ranges from the murderously short 'The Scarlatti Tilt' to one-page wonders like the sexually poignant poetry of 'An Unlimited Supply of 35 Millimetre Film', Brautigan's stories take us into a world where his fleeting glimpses of everyday strangeness leave stories and characters resonating in our heads long after they're gone.

Richard Brautigan was born in Tacoma, Washington where he spent much of his youth, before moving to San Francisco where he became involved with other writers in the Beat Movement. During the Sixties he became one of the most prolific and prominent members of the counter-cultural movement, and wrote some of his most famous novels including Trout Fishing in America, Sombrero Fallout and A Confederate General from Big Sur. He was found dead in 1984, aged 49, beside a bottle of alcohol and a .44 calibre gun. His daughter, Ianthe Brautigan, has written a biography of her father, You Can't Catch Death.

* He was an absolute original who found cause for celebration in the most unlikely places. Guardian * His writing manages to conjure up a feeling of relaxation and well-being, somehow existing in our reality without being touched by it - easy to fall into and over far too soon. After reading this you'll feel like you've been on holiday with a friend Time Out * The verbal humour and zany charm of the book remain quite irresistible. Daily Telegraph * Charming ... the stories have memorable or beautifully handled moments of observation London Review of Books