Valentine
(2013)(A book in the Electric Literature's Recommended Reading series)
A Story by Alexander Yates
Sandra has left the city for a small "first-name-basis kind of town" where she's struck up a relationship with the Jeff, the local deputy. But Jeff isn't the only one competing for Sandra's attentions; a stalker has been leaving valentines on her porch, valentines made from beef hearts.
"'Valentine' is a quiet, subversive story that makes loud noises where you don't expect it," writes Halimah Marcus, co-editor of Electric Literature, in her introduction to this story. "In the final scene - which is explosive and devastating - Yates shows us two kinds of violence, one invasive and violating, the other an assertion of power and control. "
Alexander Yates' work has appeared in Salon, The Kenyon Review, Five Chapters, and This Land. He is the author of Moondogs (Doubleday) which was listed as one of the best books of 2011 by Kirkus Reviews. He lives in Rwanda with his wife and cats.
About Recommended Reading:
Great authors inspire us. But what about the stories that inspire them? Recommended Reading, the latest project from Electric Literature, publishes one story every week, each chosen by a great author or editor. In this age of distraction, we uncover writing that's worth slowing down and spending some time with. And in doing so, we help give great writers, literary magazines, and independent presses the recognition (and readership) they deserve.
About the Guest Editor:
Electric Literature is an independent publisher working to ensure that literature remains a vibrant presence in popular culture. Electric Literature's weekly fiction magazine, Recommended Reading, invites established authors, indie presses, and literary magazines to recommended great fiction. Once a month we feature our own recommendation of original, previously unpublished fiction, accompanied by a Single Sentence Animation. Single Sentence Animations are creative collaborations: the author chooses a favorite sentence and we commission an artist to interpret it. Stay connected with us through email, Facebook, and Twitter, and find previous Electric Literature picks in the Recommended Reading archives.
Genre: Romantic Suspense
"'Valentine' is a quiet, subversive story that makes loud noises where you don't expect it," writes Halimah Marcus, co-editor of Electric Literature, in her introduction to this story. "In the final scene - which is explosive and devastating - Yates shows us two kinds of violence, one invasive and violating, the other an assertion of power and control. "
Alexander Yates' work has appeared in Salon, The Kenyon Review, Five Chapters, and This Land. He is the author of Moondogs (Doubleday) which was listed as one of the best books of 2011 by Kirkus Reviews. He lives in Rwanda with his wife and cats.
About Recommended Reading:
Great authors inspire us. But what about the stories that inspire them? Recommended Reading, the latest project from Electric Literature, publishes one story every week, each chosen by a great author or editor. In this age of distraction, we uncover writing that's worth slowing down and spending some time with. And in doing so, we help give great writers, literary magazines, and independent presses the recognition (and readership) they deserve.
About the Guest Editor:
Electric Literature is an independent publisher working to ensure that literature remains a vibrant presence in popular culture. Electric Literature's weekly fiction magazine, Recommended Reading, invites established authors, indie presses, and literary magazines to recommended great fiction. Once a month we feature our own recommendation of original, previously unpublished fiction, accompanied by a Single Sentence Animation. Single Sentence Animations are creative collaborations: the author chooses a favorite sentence and we commission an artist to interpret it. Stay connected with us through email, Facebook, and Twitter, and find previous Electric Literature picks in the Recommended Reading archives.
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Used availability for Alexander Yates's Valentine