Lennon delights in finding trouble in 'Paradise'

Lennon book
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The U.S. and U.K. editions of J. Robert Lennon's "See You in Paradise."
Lennon book
Lindsay France/University Photographer

Fiction writer J. Robert Lennon and friend.

In his new short-story collection “See You in Paradise” (Graywolf Press), associate professor of English J. Robert Lennon gathers several uneasy tales of American life, told with satiric wit and imagination.

A specialist in dystopian and darkly comic stories of small-town (and college-town) residents, Lennon puts his characters in fantastic situations – in “Portal,” a family travels back and forth through time via a magic portal in the backyard.

Culled from Lennon’s writings over the past 15 years, many of the 14 tales in the book are steeped in black comedy. The author is sometimes remarkably – and hilariously – cruel to his characters. Some are so unsympathetic, they clearly deserve it.

The joke is on the hero of “See You in Paradise,” a young alumni magazine editor who defines himself by his likability. Such pride precedes his fall when he overreaches to please a big donor who’s also his girlfriend’s father.

The stories in the collection originally appeared in Epoch, Cornell’s literary magazine; The New Yorker; Granta; Harper’s; Playboy and other publications. “Portal” first appeared in “Weird Tales,” and “The Accursed Items” was originally broadcast on the public radio program “This American Life.”

The New Yorker published a new, uncollected story, “Breadman,” Jan. 19. Lennon’s fiction is often locally inspired, so the settings and situations of “Breadman” and other stories will seem familiar to Cornell and Ithaca readers.

Lennon teaches writing at Cornell and is director of creative writing in the Department of English. He will read on campus March 12 with poet Valzhyna Mort in the Richard Cleaveland Memorial Reading, an annual showcase for English faculty writers presented as part of the Creative Writing Program’s Barbara & David Zalaznick Reading Series.

In addition to his first story collection, “Pieces for the Left Hand,” Lennon has published seven novels, including “Mailman,” “Familiar” and “Happyland.” He has been anthologized in “Best American Short Stories,” “Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards” and “Best American Nonrequired Reading.” His Writers at Cornell blog features his audio interviews with faculty, alumni and visiting writers.

Lennon lives in Ithaca, and also is a musician in The Starry Mountain Sweetheart Band, which recently released a CD, “The Hate of Love.”

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