Man V. Nature by Diane Cook

Man V. Nature by Diane Cook

"Astonishing. . . . The

stories are surreal, with the sharpest edge and in one way or another, each story

reveals something raw and powerful about being human in a world where so little

is in our control." -- Roxane Gay 

A refreshingly imaginative, daring debut collection of stories which illuminates with audacious wit the complexity of human behavior, as seen through the lens of the natural world.

Told with perfect rhythm and unyielding brutality, these stories expose unsuspecting men and women to the realities of nature, the primal instincts of man, and the dark humor and heartbreak of our struggle to not only thrive, but survive. In "Girl on Girl," a high school freshman goes to disturbing lengths to help an old friend. An insatiable temptress pursues the one man she can't have in "Meteorologist Dave Santana." And in the title story, a long fraught friendship comes undone when three buddies get impossibly lost on a lake it is impossible to get lost on. In Diane Cook's perilous worlds, the quotidian surface conceals an unexpected surreality that illuminates different facets of our curious, troubling, and bewildering behavior.

Other stories explore situations pulled directly from the wild, imposing on human lives the danger, tension, and precariousness of the natural world: a pack of not-needed boys take refuge in a murky forest and compete against each other for their next meal; an alpha male is pursued through city streets by murderous rivals and desirous women; helpless newborns are snatched by a man who stalks them from their suburban yards. Through these characters Cook asks: What is at the root of our most heartless, selfish impulses? Why are people drawn together in such messy, complicated, needful ways? When the unexpected intrudes upon the routine, what do we discover about ourselves?

As entertaining as it is dangerous, this accomplished collection explores the boundary between the wild and the civilized, where nature acts as a catalyst for human drama and lays bare our vulnerabilities, fears, and desires.

Diane Cook is the author of THE NEW WILDERNESS, a book that was longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, and MAN V. WOMAN, a collection of short stories. NATURE was a finalist for the Guardian First Book Award, the Believer Book Award, The Pen/Hemingway Award, and the Los Angeles Times First Fiction Award. Her work has appeared in Harper's, Tin House, Granta, and other magazines, and her short tales have appeared in anthologies such as Best American Short Stories and The O. Tales for the Henry Prize She was a previous producer for the radio show This American Life and was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in 2016. Her spouse, daughter, and son live in Brooklyn, New York.