{"product_id":"forty-stories-9781250420299","title":"Forty Stories","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWitty, surreal, and endlessly inventive, \u003ci\u003eForty Stories\u003c\/i\u003e is Barthelme at his finest--dismantling convention, bending language, and turning fiction into pure mischief.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDonald Barthelme is a master of the unexpected, a writer who bends fiction into strange and exhilarating shapes. In\u003ci\u003e Forty Stories\u003c\/i\u003e, the companion to \u003ci\u003eSixty Stories, \u003c\/i\u003e he delivers a dazzling collection of tales--each one a collision of wit, absurdity, and sharp social insight. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith a signature postmodern style that blends pastiche, collage, and metafiction, Barthelme reinvents storytelling at every turn. He takes on subjects as varied as Paul Klee, Goethe, Captain Blood, modern courtship, marriage, divorce, and armadillos, but his true fascination lies in language itself--how it twists, contradicts, and reveals the absurdity of contemporary life. Packed with irony, surreal imagery, and deadpan humor, these stories probe authority, relationships, and existential anxieties, all while keeping the reader deliciously off-balance. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAt once playful and profound, fragmented yet deeply resonant, \u003ci\u003eForty Stories\u003c\/i\u003e is a brilliant showcase of Barthelme's ability to subvert expectations and transform the ordinary into something extraordinary. For readers who crave fiction that defies convention, this collection is an invitation to experience storytelling at its most fearless.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Picador USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/26\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781250420299\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 256\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.25h x 5.38w x 1.00d","brand":"Donald Barthelme","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52403394543797,"sku":"9781250420299","price":15.3,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_f6e4d565-fe77-4d5d-9b52-ee00d2b07842.jpg?v=1774969066","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/forty-stories-9781250420299","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}