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Stories
by Mac Crane
A full-frontal confrontation of the ways we perform desire and shame—from the downright bizarre to the frighteningly relatable—by the award-winning author of A Sharp Endless Need.
An employee at a hunting ground where people pay to act out hate crimes prepares to meet their girlfriend's parents for the first time. A self-destructive client engages in an affair with their therapist, careening their relationship toward its inevitable breaking point. At a theme park where men pay to ogle women dressed as sirens, a mild-mannered boat attendant gets engaged to the star performer. And in the title story, a pregnant internet sex worker blackmails her clients into attending a disastrous party.
Nothing is off limits for Mac Crane as they rework classic stories of rejection, isolation, and connection to suggest that the so-called pervert, by existing in the margins of society, may be the one who sees the world most clearly. Crane brings their keen eye for the unsavory to seventeen transgressive stories that are as tantalizing and addictive as the characters' experiences. A provocative and uproarious collection about pleasure, performance, and pain, Perverts is an exaltation of the awesome depravity of queer modernity.
"Sexual identity, kink, and reinvention run through this bold story collection from Crane... . Crane's memorable and provocative stories are well worth a look." —Publishers Weekly
"Beautifully weird and deeply, messily human, Perverts is the kind of collection that sticks to your ribs. I found myself drawn back to these astounding stories again and again, the work reverberating in my brain like delightfully horny church bells. It's brilliant." —Kristen Arnett, author of Stop Me If You've Heard This One
"A collection of charming, deeply felt stories running the gamut from imaginative sex work to unexpected voyeurism to meaningful connection between strangers... . This romp of a book is about queer and trans identity, queer parenthood, and the way technology changes relationships. Perverts is delightfully lively and hilarious, Crane an exciting, kinky, queer, speculative new voice in the art of the short story." —Lydi Conklin, author of Songs of No Provenance
This information about Perverts was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Mac (Marisa) Crane is a jock, sweatpants enthusiast, and the author of I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself, a New York Times Editors' Choice, Indie Next pick, and winner of a LAMBDA Literary Award, and A Sharp Endless Need. They have received fellowships from the Sewanee Writers' Conference, American Short Fiction, and Vermont Studio Center, and their short work has appeared in Literary Hub, The Sun, TriQuarterly, Prairie Schooner, Joyland, and elsewhere. Originally from Allentown, Pennsylvania, they currently live in San Diego with their wife and two kids. Perverts is their debut short story collection.
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