![]() ![]() Nonc, a UPS driver trying to rebuild his life after Katrina and Rita in “Hurricanes Anonymous,” thinks he understands how life works: “Nonc’s dad is going to die for sure this time. ![]() They’re all at the crossroads, struggling to take the next step. His restrained but haunting stories examine loss through the eyes of characters ravaged by loneliness and isolation. What is a welcome revelation is that Johnson is so adept at the shorter literary form. ![]() Johnson, who teaches creative writing at Stanford University, won the Pulitzer Prize and the Dayton Literary Peace Price for his novel about North Korea, “The Orphan Master’s Son,” and so the award for “Fortune Smiles” comes as no surprise. But they’re united in their ability to linger in your consciousness. The six lean, disturbing, unforgettable works in “Fortune Smiles,” which won the National Book Award for fiction this month, are distinct and unique, each a perfect marvel of subtlety and precision, each devastating in its own way. If the best stories are the works that dig their way into your brain and refuse to come out, then Adam Johnson’s new collection has truly earned its accolades. ![]()
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