Acid

Edward Falco is the author of a previous collection of short stories, Plato at Scratch Daniel's, and a novel, Winter in Florida. He teaches creative writing at Virginia Tech.

"Falco writes hard and pointed fiction which examines issues of love, commitment, and family ties alike. . . this author's ability to capture and hold the modern reader's attention makes for a collection which is packed with contemporary concerns." —Midwest Book Review"It is Falco's storied sharing of those times of revelation that makes his collection memorable. Difficult and painful as they may be, Falco's stories always tell the truth and leave the reader wanting to do the same." —The Roanoke Times"Falco creates nearly perfect short stories filled with interesting characters and wonderfully dramatic situations. The characterizations are so crisp that it's impossible not to care about these people. Falco proves himself to be a sterling practitioner of the short story form." —Publishers WeeklyFalco writes tense, gritty fiction that portrays ordinary people caught between the claims of 'normal' life and the lure of the forbidden and untasted. . . Battling or grieving families, unstable and endangered relationships, assume haunting accusatory shape in 13 pellucid stories that are stylistically akin to the plays of David Mamet or Sam Shepard. Falco's voice, though, is his own, and his work keeps getting better and better." —Kirkus Reviews"There is in Mr. Falco's fiction a little of Raymond Carver's sensitivity to the menace of the everyday, and a lot of Andre Dubus's sturdy empathy with his characters' failings and regrets." —The New York Times Book Review"Well crafted and engaging, these stories offer both high drama and deep emotion." —Booklist"Acid remains a commanding collection from a writer who attends to craft and content with equal vigilance. Falco writes a sure-handed, unflinching prose that uncovers the day-to-day edginess and emotional uncertainty so pervasive in contemporary America. Like another of our best realist writers, Andre Dubus, Falco writes about people, who are all too painfully real and recognizable—and shows us that their lives matter, for better or worse." —Cimarron Review"Falco does manage to go far into conveying a sense of character and of feeling that is often elided in contemporary literature. These are interesting stories and reveal a writer who shows at once talent and promise." —Review of Contemporary Fiction"Falco sees how people are dangerous, both to themselves and to others. He is clearly a writer to be reckoned with." —The Hudson Review"I almost never admire the characters in Acid, but I care about them. Edward Falco's characterization is complex and believable, so that his parents are easy to sympathize with, however wrong they are, and the children are pitiable as we watch them prepare to self-destruct. . . Falco is at his best when he is walking a tightrope between satire and empathy, and the ways he maintains his balance are very pleasurable to behold." —Studies in Short Fiction