Killings Killings

Killings

    • 4.3 • 8 Ratings
    • $13.99
    • $13.99

Publisher Description

True stories of sudden death in the classic collection by a master of American journalism

“Reporters love murders,” Calvin Trillin writes in the introduction to Killings. “In a pinch, what the lawyers call ‘wrongful death’ will do, particularly if it’s sudden.” Killings, first published in 1984 and expanded for this edition, shows Trillin to be such a reporter, drawn time after time to tales of sudden death. But Trillin is attracted less by violence or police procedure than by the way the fabric of people’s lives is suddenly exposed when someone comes to an untimely end.  As Trillin says, Killings is “more about how Americans live than about how some of them die.”

These stories, which originally appeared in The New Yorker between 1969 and 2010, are vivid portraits of lives cut short. An upstanding farmer in Iowa finds himself drastically changed by a woman he meets in a cocktail lounge. An eccentric old man in Eastern Kentucky is enraged by the presence of a documentary filmmaker. Two women move to a bucolic Virginia county to find peace, only to end up at war over a shared road. Mexican American families in California hand down a feud from generation to generation. A high-living criminal-defense lawyer in Miami acquires any number of enemies capable of killing him. 

Stark and compassionate, deeply observed and beautifully written, Killings is “that rarity, reportage as art” (William Geist, The New York Times Book Review).

Praise for Killings

“Riveting tales of murder and mayhem. . . . [Calvin] Trillin is a superb writer, with a magical ability to turn even the most mundane detail into spellbinding wonder. Armed with this wealth of material, he utterly shines. Every piece here is a gem.”The Seattle Times

“What Mr. Trillin does so well, what makes Killings literature, is the way he pictures the lives that were interrupted by the murders. Even the most ordinary life makes a terrible noise . . . when it’s broken off.”—Anatole Broyard, The New York Times

“Fascinating, troubling . . . In each of these stories is the basis of a Dostoevskian novel.”—Edward Abbey, Chicago Sun-Times

“The stories . . . are unforgettable. They leave us, finally, with the awareness of the unknowable opacity of the human heart.”—Bruce Colman, San Francisco Chronicle

“[Trillin] writes brilliantly. . . . These stories still hold up, as classics.”The Buffalo News

“In his artful ability to conjure up a whole life and a whole world, Trillin comes as close to achieving the power of a Chekhov short story as can anyone whose material is so implacably tied to fact.”—Frederick Iseman, Harper’s Bazaar

“I have a book for you true-crime addicts if you’re caught up on the podcast Serial, the cascade on TV of 48 Hours and Dateline NBC episodes. . . . It’s time to pick up Calvin Trillin’s Killings.”The New York Times Book Review

“Well-crafted and thoughtfully composed, lacking judgment and admonishment, these are a true piece of quality journalism, which clearly continues to captivate audiences.”Library Journal

“With telling detail and shrewd insights, [Calvin Trillin] masterfully evokes the places and personalities that hatched these grim episodes.”Publishers Weekly

GENRE
Nonfiction
RELEASED
2017
April 4
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
320
Pages
PUBLISHER
Random House Publishing Group
SELLER
Penguin Random House LLC
SIZE
1.3
MB

Customer Reviews

nkbiggs ,

Lower the price please...

Dear relatives of the actual author,
Please be kind enough to use less exploitation of the intellect and hard work of the genuine article.
Your attention to this matter is truly appreciated.
Thanks so much.

More Books Like This

Death in a Texas Desert Death in a Texas Desert
2003
Girl in the Grave and Other True Crime Stories Girl in the Grave and Other True Crime Stories
2017
Met Her on the Mountain Met Her on the Mountain
2018
True Stories of Law & Order True Stories of Law & Order
2006
American Justice American Justice
2017
The Garden State Parkway Murders The Garden State Parkway Murders
2020

More Books by Calvin Trillin

Quite Enough of Calvin Trillin Quite Enough of Calvin Trillin
2011
About Alice About Alice
2006
Dogfight Dogfight
2012
The Lede The Lede
2024
Tepper Isn't Going Out Tepper Isn't Going Out
2002
The Big New Yorker Book of Cats The Big New Yorker Book of Cats
2013

Customers Also Bought

The Stars Are Mine The Stars Are Mine
2011
His Garden His Garden
2018
Blood Betrayal Blood Betrayal
2013
"My Husband's Trying to Kill Me!" "My Husband's Trying to Kill Me!"
2023
Small-Town Slayings in South Carolina Small-Town Slayings in South Carolina
2009
Meet Me For Murder Meet Me For Murder
2014