The View From the Seventh Layer - (Vintage Contemporaries) by Kevin Brockmeier (Paperback)

About the Book

In this "collection of fiction, Brockmeier shows us a fantastical world that is intimately familiar but somehow distant and beautiful. From the ... title story, where a young, antisocial woman imagines her escape into the sky with an apparition only she can see, to the ... story of a pastor tempted by something less than divine, Brockmeier moves ... from the extraordinary to the everyday, while challenging us to see the world anew"--Back cover.

Book Synopsis

Peering into the often unnoticed corners of life, Kevin Brockmeier has been consistently praised for the originality of his vision, the boundlessness of his imagination and the command of his craft. Once again, in this new collection of fiction, Brockmeier shows us a fantastical world that is intimately familiar but somehow distant and beautiful. From the touching title story, where a young, antisocial woman imagines her escape into the sky with an apparition only she can see, to the haunting story of a pastor tempted by something less than divine, Brockmeier moves effortlessly from the extraordinary to the everyday, while challenging us to see the world anew. Stunning, elegant, profound, and playful, The View from the Seventh Layer cements Kevin Brockmeier's place as one of the most creative and compassionate writers of his generation.

Review Quotes

"Some writers show us the world we live in. Brockmeier shows us, instead, the one we might live in if only we had a little more imagination."
--Los Angles Times

"Powerfully affecting. . . . Carefully observed. . . . A field of sparks set ablaze by Brockmeier's artistic hand."
--The Miami Herald

"[Filled] with lyrical grace, indelible characters and deep insight. . . . Startlingly original."
--Tucson Citizen

"Devilishly addictive. . . . Brockmeier slakes our thirst once again with rich language, measured telling, [and] a hint of wonder."
--The Seattle Times

About the Author

Kevin Brockmeier is the author of The Brief History of the Dead, The Truth About Celia, Things That Fall from the Sky, and two children's novels. He has taught at the Iowa Writers' Workshop. His stories have appeared in many publications, including The New Yorker, McSweeney's, and Oxford American, and have been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories, The O. Henry Prize Stories, and Granta's Best of Young American Novelists. He lives in Little Rock, Arkansas.