"Four expertly turned stories" of comedy, deception, and revenge from the acclaimed author of Heir to the Glimmering World (TheNew York Times Book Review).

A New York Times Notable Book

Dictation brings together four long stories by this Pulitzer and Man Booker Prize finalist, forming a quartet of sly humor and piercing insight into the human heart.

The title story imagines a fateful meeting between the secretaries to Henry James and Joseph Conrad at the peak of their fame. Timid Miss Hallowes, who types for Conrad, comes under the influence of James's Miss Bosanquet, high-spirited, flirtatious, and scheming. In a masterstroke of genius, Ozick hatches a plot between them to insert themselves into literary posterity.

Each story in the collection starts in the comic mode, with heroes who suffer willful self-deceit. From self-deception, these not-so-innocents proceed to deceive others, who don't take it lightly. Revenge is the consequence -- and for the reader, a delicious if dark recognition of emotional truth.

In Dictation, an author whose stories have won four O. Henry first prizes "reveals herself a master" (The New York Times Book Review).

"A testament to the seductions of language and the smoldering aspirations of art." -- O, The Oprah Magazine

"A brilliant book, a necessary book, a book that radiates the true intelligence of literature from every page." -- The New York Observer

• We started tracking this book on September 20, 2011.
• This book was $9.39 when we started tracking it.
• The price of this book has changed 185 times in the past 4,748 days.
• The current price of this book is $1.99 last checked one day ago.
• The lowest price to date was $1.99 last reached on September 17, 2024.
• This book has been $1.99 49 times since we started tracking it.
• The highest price to date was $14.20 last reached on May 27, 2019.
• This book has been $14.20 2 times since we started tracking it.
• This book is currently at its lowest price since we started tracking it.

• Literature & Fiction

• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 194 Pages
• File Size: 1,240 KB