Captain Maximus: Stories

"One of the best and most beloved contemporary writers from the American South, for the first time in Penguin Classics In the eight short stories that comprise Captain Maximus, Barry Hannah follows perfunctory lives and eccentrics on the fringes of society, exploring how, from their embellished personas to the trivial rigmarole they seek to escape, they all fall short of finding meaning in life. With just the turn of a page, Hannah's narrators can swing from personable talk akin to storytelling around a campfire, with the occasional flourish of dark humor, to brooding reflections on desire and meaning and to unsettling vitriol and moral depravity. This collection features some of Hannah's finest work, from the fever dream "Ride, Fly, Penetrate, Loiter" to the product of a collaboration with Robert Altman "Power and Light," and demonstrates Hannah's ability to take readers on a ride through the mud of the American male psyche with acerbic prose - mixed with hints of Faulkner and Hemingway - and a sly grin on his face. Written during a tumultuous period in the author's life, Captain Maximus captures the outrageous wit and thematic complexity of Hannah's writing, which garnered him an enduring cult following and recognition as one of the best contemporary writers to come from the American South"-- Provided by publisher