Winner of the 2019 Bard Prize "[A] fervent debut . with a language both hallucinatory and philosophical . [ Prodigals ] is a profound allegory of our addiction to success." --Antonio Ruiz-Camacho, The New York Times Book Review "The writing in Greg Jackson''s first book of stories, Prodigals , is so bold and perceptive that it delivers a contact high . You may sometimes feel you are reading a furious, Instagram-era updating of Ann Beattie''s short stories . There''s also the crunch of writers like Ian McEwan and Martin Amis in Mr. Jackson''s prose. Best of all there''s that sense -- only the excellent ones give it to you -- that whatever topic the author turns his mental LED lights toward will be powerfully illuminated .
What makes these stories radiant . is how invested Mr. Jackson is in peeling off the rind of life, in getting to the juice . ''The passage of experience back through us'' -- that''s a powerful line, and it represents what this young writer is capable of delivering, right now and, if fortune smiles, long into the future." --Dwight Garner, The New York Times "There are ethics at stake and, more important, crackling and careening Fitzgerald-worthy sentences that gather into Cheeveresque specimens of narrative architecture. Even stories that come apart (deliberately, in the case of ''Metanarrative Breakdown'') feel like the work of a writer with several books behind him, instead of none." --Boris Kachka, New York " Jackson is incredibly funny and amazingly sharp in his observations of regrets and disappointment, and the compelling stories are full of wisdom. This book has a lot of warmth in spite of the cold hard truths they tell.
His characters struggle with morality in the face of a world where morals seem no longer worth having, and hopes and dreams are constantly being downgraded until they are simply stories they tell themselves to help them get through the day . Jackson deftly shows the nuances of adult consciousness with dark humor and compassion, and this pithy collection is a powerful debut sure to bring him recognition." --Liberty Hardy, Electric Literature "Jackson is a virtuosic talent, and his distinctive, maximalist prose style alone will make Prodigals one of the more memorable debuts of 2016 . This collection succeeds in addressing a generation''s internal crises with remarkable comprehension and insight. In its best moments, it makes a persuasive argument for the unique something of its author." --MIchael Deagler, The Rumpus "Upwardly mobile, young(ish), and utterly lost: Such are the characters of Jackson''s short fiction. He probes them with insight and sentences so finely wrought, they verge on aphorism." -- O Magazine "[A are ethics at stake and, more important, crackling and careening Fitzgerald-worthy sentences that gather into Cheeveresque specimens of narrative architecture.
Even stories that come apart (deliberately, in the case of ''Metanarrative Breakdown'') feel like the work of a writer with several books behind him, instead of none." --Boris Kachka, New York " Jackson is incredibly funny and amazingly sharp in his observations of regrets and disappointment, and the compelling stories are full of wisdom. This book has a lot of warmth in spite of the cold hard truths they tell. His characters struggle with morality in the face of a world where morals seem no longer worth having, and hopes and dreams are constantly being downgraded until they are simply stories they tell themselves to help them get through the day . Jackson deftly shows the nuances of adult consciousness with dark humor and compassion, and this pithy collection is a powerful debut sure to bring him recognition." --Liberty Hardy, Electric Literature "Jackson is a virtuosic talent, and his distinctive, maximalist prose style alone will make Prodigals one of the more memorable debuts of 2016 . This collection succeeds in addressing a generation''s internal crises with remarkable comprehension and insight. In its best moments, it makes a persuasive argument for the unique something of its author.
" --MIchael Deagler, The Rumpus "Upwardly mobile, young(ish), and utterly lost: Such are the characters of Jackson''s short fiction. He probes them with insight and sentences so finely wrought, they verge on aphorism." -- O Magazine "[A>Electric Literature "Jackson is a virtuosic talent, and his distinctive, maximalist prose style alone will make Prodigals one of the more memorable debuts of 2016 . This collection succeeds in addressing a generation''s internal crises with remarkable comprehension and insight. In its best moments, it makes a persuasive argument for the unique something of its author." --MIchael Deagler, The Rumpus "Upwardly mobile, young(ish), and utterly lost: Such are the characters of Jackson''s short fiction. He probes them with insight and sentences so finely wrought, they verge on aphorism." -- O Magazine "[A are ethics at stake and, more important, crackling and careening Fitzgerald-worthy sentences that gather into Cheeveresque specimens of narrative architecture.
Even stories that come apart (deliberately, in the case of ''Metanarrative Breakdown'') feel like the work of a writer with several books behind him, instead of none." --Boris Kachka, New York " Jackson is incredibly funny and amazingly sharp in his observations of regrets and disappointment, and the compelling stories are full of wisdom. This book has a lot of warmth in spite of the cold hard truths they tell. His characters struggle with morality in the face of a world where morals seem no longer worth having, and hopes and dreams are constantly being downgraded until they are simply stories they tell themselves to help them get through the day . Jackson deftly shows the nuances of adult consciousness with dark humor and compassion, and this pithy collection is a powerful debut sure to bring him recognition." --Liberty Hardy, Electric Literature "Jackson is a virtuosic talent, and his distinctive, maximalist prose style alone will make Prodigals one of the more memorable debuts of 2016 . This collection succeeds in addressing a generation''s internal crises with remarkable comprehension and insight. In its best moments, it makes a persuasive argument for the unique something of its author.
" --MIchael Deagler, The Rumpus "Upwardly mobile, young(ish), and utterly lost: Such are the characters of Jackson''s short fiction. He probes them with insight and sentences so finely wrought, they verge on aphorism." -- O Magazine "[A are ethics at stake and, more important, crackling and careening Fitzgerald-worthy sentences that gather into Cheeveresque specimens of narrative architecture. Even stories that come apart (deliberately, in the case of ''Metanarrative Breakdown'') feel like the work of a writer with several books behind him, instead of none." --Boris Kachka, New York " Jackson is incredibly funny and amazingly sharp in his observations of regrets and disappointment, and the compelling stories are full of wisdom. This book has a lot of warmth in spite of the cold hard truths they tell. His characters struggle with morality in the face of a world where morals seem no longer worth having, and hopes and dreams are constantly being downgraded until they are simply stories they tell themselves to help them get through the day . Jackson deftly shows the nuances of adult consciousness with dark humor and compassion, and this pithy collection is a powerful debut sure to bring him recognition.
" --Liberty Hardy, Electric Literature "Jackson is a virtuosic talent, and his distinctive, maximalist prose style alone will make Prodigals one of the more memorable debuts of 2016 . This collection succeeds in addressing a generation''s internal crises with remarkable comprehension and insight. In its best moments, it makes a persuasive argument for the unique something of its author." --MIchael Deagler, The Rumpus "Upwardly mobile, young(ish), and utterly lost: Such are the characters of Jackson''s short fiction. He probes them with insight and sentences so finely wrought, they verge on aphorism." -- O Magazine "[A>Electric Literature "Jackson is a virtuosic talent, and his distinctive, maximalist prose style alone will make Prodigals one of the more memorable debuts of 2016 . This collection succeeds in addressing a generation''s internal crises with remarkable comprehension and insight. In its best moments, it makes a persuasive argument for the unique something of its author.
" --MIchael Deagler, The Rumpus "Upwardly mobile, young(ish), and utterly lost: Such are the characters of Jackson''s short fiction. He probes them with insight and sentences so finely wrought, they verge on aphorism." -- O Magazine "[A>Electric Literature "Jackson is a virtuosic talent, and his distinctive, maximalist prose style alone will make Prodigals one of the more memorable debuts of 2016 . This collection succeeds in addressing a generation''s internal crises with remarkable comprehension and insight. In its best moments, it makes a persuasive argument for the unique something of its author." --MIchael Deagler, The Rumpus "Upwardly mobile, young(ish), and utterly lost: Such are the characters of Jackson''s short fiction. He probes them with insight and sentences so fin.