"Moving seamlessly between voyeurs and Vespas, Kosher soap and secret lives, Peek goes from clever to heartbreaking to outright bizarre with equal dexterity. It's as if Woody Allen and Charles Bukowski got your favorite uncle hammered all weekend and made him spill the family dirt in perfect, flash fiction sized bites." Nancy Stohlman, The Vixen Scream and Other Bible Stories “Paul Beckman's irresistible stories give us a world in which everyone thinks about sex all the time, and nobody hesitates to get what he or she wants-whether it's sex, a last laugh before being executed, or a substitute mother who'll do the complaining when your real mother has died. Some of these dark, ambitious stories of desire and anxiety are hilarious. In others the joke is on the startled reader, who has not quite anticipated how far our fellow creatures-and Beckman-will go.” Alice Mattison, When We Argued All Night “In stories both accessible and profound, rife with humor and pathos, Paul Beckman's Peek delivers. Telling details, nuanced themes and characters are all demonstrated here, with a range that is stunning. What a stellar collection this is.” Robert Scotellaro, Measuring the Distance “Paul Beckman's work is always fresh, evocative, and engaging and never more so than in the pages of Peek. I found so much to like about this collection that just a peek was impossible. After reading one story, I found myself immediately turning to the next. Good books are hard to put down, and this is a good book by anyone's measure. I wish I had written so many of these wonderful pieces. But the next best thing to writing a great story, is reading one, or two, or three . . .” Michael C. Keith, Everything is Epic
About the Author
Paul Beckman’s stories have appeared in over 200 publications in print, online and via audio and video. His stories have appeared in numerous anthologies and in a dozen countries. He earned an MFA in creative writing from Bennington College where he returned a few years later as the Alumni Graduation Speaker. He has taught creative writing in high school and judged an annual multi-school short story contest for ten years. Additionally, he’s been a guest editor for Cahoodaloodaling Magazine. When not writing Paul spends his time traveling, taking pictures–both above and beneath the water, and volunteering at the local Food Pantry. Visit him online at www.paulbeckmanstories.com.
you tube 1 min ad Peek Trailer
By Susan Tepper on March 9, 2015
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
These are very dark well written stories. They all seem to take place in the dark, despite the actual circumstances of plots and settings. People peek across apartment buildings via telescopes, they grope other people's spouses, they hate relatives to their dying end. If you are looking for happy redemptive stories go elsewhere. If you want a taste of the unfortunate realities that make up so many lives, these short fictions will give you a jolt. And then some. Highly recommended.
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