Damage Control

Dermont's short story collection, which follows her debut novel (The Starboard Sea, 2012), demonstrates the author's versatility and sardonic humor...Dermont delivers strong prose and intriguing characters who frequently defy stereotypical ideals...the overall effect is a tight collection that takes the reader in unexpected, often disconcerting, directions. Full of irony and contradictions, this compilation of contemporary short stories is a worthwhile effort.-Kirkus ReviewsA luminous collection of short stories focusing on privilege and entitlement, from the bestselling author of The Starboard SeaDamage Control displays Amber Dermont's remarkable gift for portraying characters at crossroads. In Lyndon, a daughter visits presidential landmarks following the death of her father. In Damage Control, a young man works at an etiquette school while his girlfriend is indicted for embezzlement. A widow rents herself to elderly women and vacations with them as a professional grandchild in Stella at the Winter Palace. And in The Language of Martyrs a couple houses a mail order bride on behalf of the husband's Russian mother.Dermont's stories have previously been published in many literary magazines and have also been featured in anthologies edited by Jane Smiley and Dave Eggers. Damage Control includes three previously unpublished pieces.