Deb Olin Unferth is the author of Minor Robberies, Vacation, and Revolution: The Year I Fell in Love and Went to Join the War, which was a finalist for a National Book Critics Circle Award in autobiography. She lives in Austin, Texas.
"This assemblage of down-and-out moments is delivered with a wit
and concision reminiscent of Lydia Davis and Diane Williams, a wry
intelligence and keen irony that don't prevent Unferth's prose from
offering deep emotional intimacy. . . . Unferth's book is rich with
surprises, small and large. . . . Again and again in these pages,
Unferth swerves from the mundane to the extraordinary, from biting
to soaringly celebratory, often in a single sentence."--New York
Times Book Review"[Unferth's] absurd and tender story collection is
full of sentences like clear glass doors, and you, reader, are the
bird. . . . The way she writes [her characters] is reminiscent of
the unsentimental, often absurd, compassion of George Saunders. . .
. The multiplicity of feeling is wonderful; it's like she's
swirling all these different colors of paint together but stops
while it's all still just thinly marbled
together."--NPR"Reminiscent of Lydia Davis, many of the stories in
Unferth's whip-smart collection clock in at just a few pages (or
less), their brevity part of their caustic charm. The longer
stories take up matters of life and death with a bracing attention
to the seeming randomness of both states."--San Francisco
Chronicle"One of the most important voices in fiction's
long-awaited collection of short fiction is a fascinating
must-read."--Newsweek "Worth it for the title story alone,
Unferth's collection certifies her as a virtuoso minimalist and an
heir to Diane Williams and Lydia Davis."--New York Magazine"The
prose is spare, and her stories often grin while they expose
painful truths so deep in her characters that we are often reminded
of the blush of self-awareness. . . . Unferth's spell is in her
absolute confidence and her sublime endings. You lean forward in
her stories as the narrative and jeopardy build, but you trust her
to get you there."--Los Angeles Review of Books "Unferth has an
irrepressible comic sensibility and her sense of humor shines
throughout Wait Till You See Me Dance."--Santa Barbara
Independent"Unferth is a master of misdirection, leading the reader
in one way, only to pull the rug out by radically shifting the
perspective of the characters, the reader, or both. . . . Expertly,
Unferth constructs situations whose strangeness and intensity robs
her characters of rational thought, yet she forces her readers to
see these moments for what they are, petty and trivial moments in
lives often all too short and painful. . . . Wait Till You See Me
Dance is a resounding call for empathy and it doesn't hurt that
it's clever and hilarious as well."--PopMatters"[Wait Till You See
Me Dance is] written with precision, deadpan humor, and a sharp but
generous observation of human foibles."--Poets & Writers
"Unferth is a master of comic darkness punctuated by a glimmer of
hope."--Electric Literature"Wait Till You See Me Dance is as
delightfully witty as it is emotionally insightful. . . . The human
spirit of the twenty-first century is captured with this blend of
humorous spunk and impassioned observation. Deb Olin Unferth's deft
use of prose results in smart, rich, and unforgettable
stories."--Chicago Review of Books"Unferth displays a smart and
snappy application of the short-short form in this volume of 39
stories. . . . What makes this collection most entertaining,
besides the obvious mastery of humor, is Unferth's knack for
meshing unique and often relatable experiences with a highly
observant, endearing narrator."--Zyzzyva"It's a delight to clatter
about in Unferth's stories, finding bits of insight and little
truths at every turn. . . . There isn't, in fact, a story in Wait
Till You See Me Dance that isn't executed with . . . painstaking
care, wit and strangeness. . . . A self-assured collection from a
seasoned voice."--The Culture Trip"Deb Olin Unferth deals in turns
of phrase and turns of luck. . . . [Wait Till You See Me Dance] is
a limber collection with the dexterity and precision to launch in
most any direction."--Hilary Leichter, Electric Literature"Wait
Till You See Me Dance is filled with sharp, masterfully told
stories that perfectly balance darkness and hope."--Largehearted
Boy"Meticulously crafted and interlaced with relentless humor, the
collection--containing an impressive thirty-nine stories ranging
from a single sentence to twenty-four pages--offers a high-powered
union of irony and absurdity that rejects any comfortable, easy
landing. When it's least expected, these stories strike with gross
and subtle tragedy."--KGB Lit Mag"Fans of Lorrie Moore and George
Saunders will love Unferth's first collection of stories. . . .
These 39 tales are profound, acerbic, and surprising, and most are
nothing short of amazing."--Book Riot"[Unferth is] a wild talent. .
. . Wait Till You See Me Dance confirms that the short story . . .
is her best vessel. . . . Unferth's neatest trick is to bloody the
line between the metaphorical and the literal."--Bookforum"Wait
Till You See Me Dance is not just a technical achievement, it is a
human one. Under Unferth's guise, the characters become not so much
fabrications, but a kaleidoscope of the writer herself. To our
benefit, Unferth's heart is all over these stories; she's right
there on the page."--Full Stop"A stunning debut collection. . . .
39 poignant, sharp-edged stories that cut right to the bone of the
human psyche with precision and grace. . . . Prickly dilemmas,
physical and existential, abound in these allegorical stories, each
terrifically mundane and told with an exquisite restraint that
drolly captures the inherent hope of humanity. . . . Chock-full of
emotional insight and comic verve, Unferth's beguiling stories are
not to be missed."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review"Unferth's tales
expose life's underlying darkness, while offering hard-won moments
of clarity that cut straight to the heart."--Booklist"This book is
an astonishment--strange, brainy, and loaded with feeling. Deb Olin
Unferth shows, with brilliant force, the startling vitality of the
short story. She is a master."--Ben Marcus"Deb Olin Unferth's
stories are wild, funny, and wonderful."--Geoff Dyer"Wait Till You
See Me Dance delivers on the promise of surprise in its title:
Thirty-nine tap-dance sharp, hilarious stories take up people with
hearts askew and right them. Disgruntled mothers, daughters,
adjunct professors, speak in a voice 'with a tarp of sad
earnestness' so as to win over the reader every time."--Chirstine
Schutt, author of Prosperous Friends
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