Torturer's Apprentice: Stories

Whether recounting the predicament of an atheistic stigmatic in "The Vulgar Soul" or a medieval torturer who must employ his terrible skills upon his own apprentice in the title tale, this extraordinary debut collection of stories never settles for easy sentiments or assurances. Though fluent in a variety of narrative voices, the volume is as notable for the rigor of its intellect as for the sweep of its imagination. Imposing neither a single style nor a repeated structure, Biguenet addresses a range of subjects that reach far beyond the failed relationships and unfulfilled lives that occupy so much fiction today. If these stories engage the world in sometimes shocking ways, though, they are virtuoso engagements, eloquent in their prose, surprising in their plotline, sly in their humor.

About the Author:
John Biguenet writes fiction, poetry, and essays, which have appeared in Esquire, Granta, Story, DoubleTake, and Ploughshares, among others. He lives in New Orleans, LA.