The Man Who
Would Be God
(stories)
1993
"Mostly set in East Texas, the tales often present the dark side of human nature, their physical and psychological violence leavened by humor." (Houston Chronicle)
". . . it is especially satisfying, in an age where the short story seems to have long since fallen out of favor, to find a new collection as gripping as Paul Ruffin's The Man Who Would Be God." (Southwestern American Literature)
"Whether he is writing of East Texas, as he often does here, Alabama, or West Texas, his eye for significant detail and his ear for dialogue are impeccable." (Journal of American Studies)
"Ruffin's background as a poet is revealed in these meticulously wrought, deceptively
simple stores of human relationships told in a near-
"A lot goes on in Ruffin's stories-
people and places, and then a series of delicate literary games . . . even though these are not all `poetic' stories one can sense the meticulous care in the crafting of the sentences." (Dictionary of Literary Biography)
"The fact that these tales . . . contain some staggeringly beautiful writing seems almost beyond the point . . . . They document a way of life that still exists for many, and do so in language that at times crosses over into the country of sheer beauty." (Gruene Street)
ISBN: 0-
0-
“Mr. Ruffin’s poignant stories linger in the memory like the scent of wood smoke—or gun smoke—on the skin.” (Susan Lowell, New York Times Book Review)
“The talented Ruffin has an ear for language and dialogue and writes with a hardened American elegance.” (Library Journal)
“. . . a worthwhile assortment of short fiction that would enhance any regional or general fiction collection.” (Booklist)
“. . . sharply etched sketches and stories.” (Kirkus Reviews)
"By turns funny, sweet, earthy, and fantastic, Paul Ruffin's stories are wholly involving. They take over a reader's life; they seize her imagination; they steal her heart. Call them not stories, then, but enchantments, for this is a book that binds the reader as if with a spell." – Kelly Cherry
"Of the same mind as the cowboys at the dying Double Star who sit evenings watching for the white-
"Ruffin has created a fictional cosmos in East Texas as fully fleshed as Faulkner's corner of Mississippi. Ruffin's touch, his instinct for the telling detail and memorable utterance, breathe life into a region and its culture. A most impressive fictional debut by this poet." – Gordon Weaver