The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze, and Other Stories [B0964]

1997 PB New Directions Classic reprint of the 1934 original, in excellent condition. This is the timeless, debut collection of brilliant short stories that won William Saroyan a position among the foremost, most widely popular writers of America during the great depression. With the greatest of ease William Saroyan flew across the literary skies in 1934 with the publication of The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze and Other Stories. One of the first American writers to describe the immigrant experience in the U.S., Saroyan created characters who were Armenians, Jews, Chinese, Poles, Africans, and the Irish. The title story touchingly portrays the thoughts of a very young writer, dying of starvation. All of the tales were written during the depression and reflect, through pathos and humor, the mood of the nation in one of its greatest times of want.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Experimental and insightful. Had I not known the publication year, I'd have guessed 70s or 80s. Really enjoyed."; "Sad, joyous stories of trying to understand and find compassion in humanity and its part in the earth, and of the universe, where everyone is just trying to get by and be remembered."; "Saroyan writes like no one else-and that's amazing. These stories written by a young man during the great depression are both tragic and funny at the same time. Highly recommended."