"Pamela painter is a master storyteller— captivating, playful, hilarious, tender, perverse, Kafkaesque. Her craft is meticulous yet fluid. And her final sentences are zingers. A story makes a deft turn and comes to a powerful stop."
—Bobbie Ann Mason
“For the past forty-five years, Pamela Painter has written some fo the finest short stories anywhere, and Fabrications is a treasure chest filled with her very best. Witty, moving, wise, and elegant, these stories are gems."
—Steve Yarbrough
Pamela Painter writes at the height of her powers and invites us to read in like manner. Her stories abound with characters that linger, moments that enlighten. Such power and grace, such generosity! She is a master of the American short story and Fabrications is a triumphant book.
—Pablo Medina
Pamela Painter's short stories have been praised by Margot Livesey for their "wicked intelligence and ruthless humor." In Fabrications, which brings together 7 new and 24 selected stories, characters struggle to avoid the chaos in their lives, but—driven by addictions and appetites—often bring on disaster. Nobody is ordinary in Painter's stories. A burglar can't believe what he is asked to do by the woman whose jewelry he is stealing. Hitchhikers, hell-bent on murder, are thwarted by the miracle of story-telling. A wife can make rooms—and her husband—disappear, but saves the family dog. A young woman insists on the romance of being married in an Elvis Presley chapel, but for the wrong reasons. Fabrications is a testament to Painter's lyric skill and psychological insight across her career.
—Johns Hopkins University Press
A widower finds his stolen car and begins a relationship with a thief. A woman whose sisters levy accusations against their dying father wonders why he chose them, not her. A divorcing couple celebrates a final beach weekend with their closest friends. In these fifteen stories of love, loss, and recovery, Pamela Painter cements her status as a master of the contemporary short story.