{"product_id":"road-to-cosmos-the-faces-of-an-american-town-9780268035013","title":"Road to Cosmos: The Faces of An American Town","description":"\u003cp\u003eMeissner has the storyteller's gift for creating living characters, living speech, living emotions, living drama. He knows his small towns, but beyond that, he knows the workings of the human heart. --Tim O'Brien, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Things They Carried\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eJuly, July\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA storyteller with remarkable gifts. --Kurt Vonnegut\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMeissner's stories are expressions of the complex connections between ourselves and parents. They say what we all should say but usually can't. In that way they serve literature's best purpose. --Richard Ford\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn his second short story collection, Bill Meissner explores the consciousness of Cosmos, U.S.A, a small town that is anything but ordinary. Though it has its share of residents intent on keeping the world on an even keel, Cosmos is blessed with a healthy number of eccentrics who are chasing their dreams, idiosyncratic as they may be, or struggling to distinguish themselves as individuals. We meet Duane, hoping to build a replica of Stonehenge with salvaged cars; Norm, the local weatherman, longing to be the first person to film the inside of a tornado; Elmo, a groundskeeper, seeking perfection on his baseball field; and Dolores--convinced Elvis is still alive--attempting to overcome the pain of her husband's desertion. Threaded through the collection are poignant childhood memories told through the voice of Skip Carrigan, a native son, who left and returned years later. Skip's stories chronicle a sometimes tender, sometimes stormy relationship with his father; through Skip's mature perspective, Meissner artfully comments on the growth and change of America itself during recent decades. The residents of Cosmos orbit the town like planets, some of them pulling away, others moving ever closer to its center. Cosmos, though a small Midwestern town, contains universal characters, each of them struggling to find order, love, and identity amid the chaos of their lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Bill Meissner\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Notre Dame Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/01\/2006\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 206\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.75lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.10w x 0.53d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780268035013\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/15\/2006 pg. 805\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eUniv PR Books for Public Libry\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/01\/2007 pg. 1 - Strongly Recommended\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBill Meissner \u003c\/b\u003ehas won numerous awards for his writing, including PEN\/NEA Syndicated Fiction Awards for four of the stories in \u003ci\u003eThe Road to Cosmos\u003c\/i\u003e. He is the author of a previous book of fiction, \u003ci\u003eHitting into the Wind\u003c\/i\u003e, and four books of poetry, including \u003ci\u003eAmerican Compass\u003c\/i\u003e, also published by the University of Notre Dame Press. He is Director of Creative Writing at St. Cloud State University.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"University of Notre Dame Press","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":39988425293939,"sku":"9.78027E+12","price":28.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/products\/img_75113485-9722-4389-8c07-1584ec84a931.jpg?v=1649771585","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/products\/road-to-cosmos-the-faces-of-an-american-town-9780268035013","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}