A man’s life is changed by a tractor accident… Another man negotiates a tricky relationship with his maid in Mexico. A woman goes shopping and sees what looks like her father’s old car driven by a man who is a dead ringer for her deceased father; she pursues the car, the man.
A woman of means accepts a date with a poor Chinese student who opens her life in unexpected ways. Another woman, a down to earth theatrical costumer, takes up with an airline pilot who is the opposite of her earthiness—he is almost all sky. A married woman falls into an affair with her gardener after she carries him a glass of water one day.
A young mother almost loses her infant son in the post office one day when a strange older woman tries to carry him off. On a weekend getaway meant to bring one family together, a woman tries to win the love of her difficult mother. The one-time mistress of a charismatic professor meets with his son after many years and they end up re-enacting the Ganesha myth of the awkward and graceful boy-god, the elephant boy. The daughter of an alcoholic pieces things together and moves on.
These are the stories in The Man in the Buick collection.
About the Author
Kathleen George was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. As a child, she wanted to be a writer. She wrote stories and plays in high school and in her undergraduate years as a creative writing major at the University of Pittsburgh. She went on to earn a Ph.D. in Theatre (also at Pitt). By then she had made her home in Pittsburgh. For eight years she taught theatre at Carlow College, where she directed many plays.
Then she accepted a teaching position at Pitt where she continued to direct and teach dramatic literature and playwriting; in the early 80s, she began to add fiction writing back into the mix. In 1988, she earned an M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing (also at Pitt!) on the side.
George is the author of The Johnstown Girls, a novel about the famous Johnstown flood. She has also written seven mysteries set in Pittsburgh: A Measure of Blood, Simple, The Odds, which was nominated for the Edgar® Award from the Mystery Writers of America, Hideout, Afterimage, Fallen, and Taken.
George is also the author of the short story collection The Man in the Buick and editor of another collection, Pittsburgh Noir. She is currently a professor of theater arts and creative writing at the University of Pittsburgh.
Author: Kathleen George
Page Count: 187
Publisher: University of Arkansas Press
Publication Date: 1999
Format: Paperback
ISBN-10: 1886157200
ISBN-13: 978-1886157200
