Mr. Agreeable
Mr. Agreeable is a collection of flash and sudden fictions, featuring keyhole glimpses of lives at the edge, of characters haunted by shadowy pasts, caught at pivotal moments and braced for what lies ahead. Burdened and bent in their various ways, Nesset's figures are led forward by others by strangers, assailants, ambiguous friends and and are finally nudged toward awareness or tentative insight, if not moved to action. Gathered together, the stories comprise a twisted collage, sometimes hilarious, sometimes unsettling, often hilariously unsettling. Stories from Mr.
Agreeable have been anthologized widely, appearing in The
Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses, in Norton's Flash
Fiction Forward and New Sudden Fiction, and elsewhere.
- Pub. Date: September 2009
- Publisher: Mammoth Books
- ISBN: 1595390219
Order from:
Nesset is attuned to the fine-edged songs of the mundane, alert to the explosions ready to burst even in the dull routes where our lives lead. All this without forcing the drama or cheating the literal crawl of time. I wish I could manage this. Hurrah! — Barry Hannah
Kirk Nesset has, in his collection of short short stories Mr. Agreeable, given us a beautiful bouquet of crystal shards, each one of which, when held to the light, refracts and amplifies and makes new the entire notion of light. But be careful: like crystal shards and like any good stories these haunting pieces cut to the bone. — Bret Lott
In these stories, we remember our lives are indeed a sequence of moments, with their distinct and defining characteristics; they're like polaroids from a personal apocalypse. There is a navigational alchemy in this work, a mastery of subject and craft. — Kate Braverman
Throughout this fine collection, Nesset shows that pleasure can be found even in the mulch of the earth and that we are all deserving of joy. — Nicelle Davis, PANK Read more.
One of Mr. Nesset's strengths is his eye for humor in awkward, uncomfortable situations. — Adolfo Mejia, Connotation Press Read more.
Nesset's pieces seem to go down like candy, with their precise and engaging rhythms. But then—surprise—they stick in the throat. — Bill O'Driscoll, Pittsburgh City Paper Read more.
Any time spent with either Paradise Road or Mr. Agreeable will be quality time. — Ed Post, Erie Times Read more.
Podcast Review of Mr. Agreeable — Majorie Maddox on WPSU's BookMark: Listen.