Courtney Crane

Perfume & Cigarettes Courtney Crane

A collection of contemporary short stories with some touches of magic realism... Crane produces spot-on descriptions like that of an old man's body that was "as thin and shapeless as a can of Pringles" and clever turns of phrase such as "[h]e'd learned to live with it, the way people learn to live leprosy or a criminal record"... Tales like "The Little Flower of the Newsroom", with its clever title and unexpected conclusion, and the haunting glimpse into the mind of a mass murderer in "The Last Day is Better than the First" make this slim volume of literary gems. worthy of further exploration. Kirkus Indie Reviews "Crane has a bloodhound's sense for story, a lapidary's skill with sentences, and a wicked sense of emotional surprise. Reading these stories right after another is like a daisy chain of brilliance." John Fox at Bookfox