Brief Encounters with the Enemy

An unnamed American city feeling the effects of a war waged far away and suffering from bad weather is the backdrop for this startling work of fiction. The protagonists are aimless young men going from one blue collar job to the next, or in a few cases, aspiring to middle management. Their everyday struggles-with women, with the morning commute, with a series of cruel bosses-are somehow transformed into storytelling that is both universally resonant and wonderfully uncanny. That is the unsettling, funny, and ultimately heartfelt originality of Said Sayrafiezadeh's short fiction, to be at home in a world not quite our own but with many, many lessons to offer us.

About the Author :
SA D SAYRAFIEZADEH is the author of a memoir, When Skateboards Will Be Free. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Granta, McSweeney's, The New York Times Magazine and The Best American Nonrequired Reading, among other publications. He lives in New York City and teaches at New York University.

Review :
One of New York s 100 Most Important Living Writers as ranked by Flavorwire With impressive guile and design, Mr. Sayrafiezadeh uses the arrival and escalation of that war as the through-line connecting each personal drama. . . . These calculated echoes work to unify [his] haunting book in a way that story collections rarely manage. Sam Sacks, The Wall Street Journal In his memoir, Sayrafiezadeh told the remarkable tale of a childhood steeped in doomed dogma. His stories . . . offer something more: a searing vision of his wayward homeland, delivered not in the clamoring rhetoric of a revolutionary, but in the droll monologues of young men who kill because they lack the moral imagination to do otherwise. Steve Almond, The New York Times Book Review (Editors Choice) Sayrafiezadeh s eight interlinked stories are just as fulfilling as any novel you re likely to read this summer. The Boston Globe A tantalizing fiction debut . . . [that] menaces and mesmerizes. Elle This is the domain of almost aggressively ordinary guys guys who may be a tier or two up the ladder at their retail or call center jobs, but who don t get there without incurring the envy of former classmates still working the mailroom. The recurring motifs include 99-cent American flags, putting in a word with the boss, idealistic Army recruitment brochures and unseasonable temperatures. Each time they recur they are more potent, and poignant. The collection is readable, and real, and hopefully a harbinger of more fiction to come from Sayrafiezadeh. Minneapolis Star Tribune Funny and surprising . . . Sayrafiezadeh s simple style can fool you into thinking that his struggling narrators are plain and unassuming. They are anything but. . . . Each story compels you to read the next, and no character escapes unscathed. The Daily Beast Sayrafiezadeh s genius is not only in the way he almost painfully keeps our attention on the powers at play in these peoples lives, but in his sentences themselves. His deceptively simple prose has a grip that gently pulls but never slackens. The words and images pour in and the reader is pulled in, on and through these stories effortlessly, stories that seem to get better with each read. Washington Independent Review of Books Remarkable . . . Brief Encounters with the Enemy does something rare in that it contributes something new and essentially different to the literature of war our stories, about what it s like over here. It s discomfiting, and surprising, and illuminating to say the least. I ve not read anything like it before. Scott Cheshire, The Millions An arresting fiction debut . . . With insightful humor and a keen eye for offbeat details, Sayrafiezadeh, entertaining and political without being heavy-handed, is a force to be reckoned with. Booklist Accelerating through the curve with characters who are colossally misguided and still likable reminiscent of Junot Diaz s Yunior this is an astounding first collection. BookPage Said Sayrafiezadeh is a masterly storyteller, working from deep in the American grain. This is a splendid fiction debut. Philip Gourevitch, author of The Ballad of Abu Ghraib In this beautiful collection, we see the wages of war, brought very close to home. Dani Shapiro, author of Devotion Bizarre and compelling and painfully funny, and something else, too: important. John Wray, author of Lowboy A vivid collection about the indignities and consolations of dead-end jobs, the joy of a stolen kiss, and the mysteries of friendship. Nathaniel Rich, author of Odds Against Tomorrow Said Sayrafiezadeh is a slyly subversive absurdist whose true subject is the deeply serious matter of our obligations to one another as human beings. John Burnham Schwartz, author ofNorthwest Corner Fun, moving, and reads like the work of a master. Darin Strauss, author of Half a Life Gritty, compelling stories about our embattled working class. This is a thrilling report from the trenches. Edmund White, author of Jack Holmes and His Friend Perfectly calibrated, laced with hard-earned moments of vulnerability, rendered in language that is at once plainspoken and lyrical. Teddy Wayne, author of The Love Song of Jonny Valentine" One of New York's 100 Most Important Living Writers as ranked by "Flavorwire" "With impressive guile and design, Mr. Sayrafiezadeh uses the arrival and escalation of that war as the through-line connecting each personal drama. . . . These calculated echoes work to unify [his] haunting book in a way that story collections rarely manage."--Sam Sacks, "The Wall Street Journal" " " "In his memoir, Sayrafiezadeh told the remarkable tale of a childhood steeped in doomed dogma. His stories . . . offer something more: a searing vision of his wayward homeland, delivered not in the clamoring rhetoric of a revolutionary, but in the droll monologues of young men who kill because they lack the moral imagination to do otherwise."--Steve Almond, "The New York Times Book Review "(Editors' Choice) "Sayrafiezadeh's eight interlinked stories are just as fulfilling as any novel you're likely to read this summer."--"The Boston Globe" " " "A tantalizing fiction debut . . . [that] menaces and mesmerizes."--"Elle" "This is the domain of almost aggressively ordinary guys--guys who may be a tier or two up the ladder at their retail or call center jobs, but who don't get there without incurring the envy of former classmates still working the mailroom. The recurring motifs include 99-cent American flags, putting in a word with the boss, idealistic Army recruitment brochures and unseasonable temperatures. Each time they recur they are more potent, and poignant. The collection is readable, and real, and hopefully a harbinger of more fiction to come from Sayrafiezadeh."--Minneapolis "Star Tribune" "Funny and surprising . . . Sayrafiezadeh's simple style can fool you into thinking that his struggling narrators are plain and unassuming. They are anything but. . . . Each story compels you to read the next, and no character escapes unscathed."--"The Daily Beast" "Sayrafiezadeh's genius is not only in the way he almost painfully keeps our attention on the powers at play in these peoples' lives, but in his sentences themselves. His deceptively simple prose has a grip that gently pulls but never slackens. The words and images pour in and the reader is pulled in, on and through these stories effortlessly, stories that seem to get better with each read."--"Washington Independent Review of Books" "Remarkable . . . "Brief Encounters with the Enemy" does something rare in that it contributes something new and 'essentially different' to the literature of war--our stories, about what it's like over here. It's discomfiting, and surprising, and illuminating to say the least. I've not read anything like it before."--Scott Cheshire, "The Millions" "An arresting fiction debut . . . With insightful humor and a keen eye for offbeat details, Sayrafiezadeh, entertaining and political without being heavy-handed, is a force to be reckoned with."--"Booklist" " " "Accelerating through the curve with characters who are colossally misguided and still likable--reminiscent of Junot Diaz's Yunior--this is an astounding first collection."--"BookPage" "Said Sayrafiezadeh is a masterly storyteller, working from deep in the American grain. This is a splendid fiction debut."--Philip Gourevitch, author of "The Ballad of Abu Ghraib" " " "In this beautiful collection, we see the wages of war, brought very close to home."--Dani Shapiro, author of "Devotion" "Bizarre and compelling and painfully funny, and something else, too: important."--John Wray, author of "Lowboy" "A vivid collection about the indignities and consolations of dead-end jobs, the joy of a stolen kiss, and the mysteries of friendship."--Nathaniel Rich, author of "Odds Against Tomorrow" "Said Sayrafiezadeh is a slyly subversive absurdist whose true subject is the deeply serious matter of our obligations to one another as human beings."--John Burnham Schwartz, author of "Northwest Corner" "Fun, moving, and reads like the work of a master."--Darin Strauss, author of "Half a Life" "Gritty, compelling stories about our embattled working class. This is a thrilling report from the trenches."--Edmund White, author of "Jack Holmes and His Friend" " " "Perfectly calibrated, laced with hard-earned moments of vulnerability, rendered in language that is at once plainspoken and lyrical."--Teddy Wayne, author of "The Love Song of Jonny Valentine" Advance praise for "Brief Encounters with the Enemy" "A tantalizing fiction debut . . . [that] menaces and mesmerizes."--"Elle" "Said Sayrafiezadeh is a masterly storyteller, working from deep in the American grain. This is a splendid fiction debut."--Philip Gourevitch, author of "The Ballad of Abu Ghraib" " " "In this beautiful collection, we see the wages of war, brought very close to home."--Dani Shapiro, author of "Devotion" "Bizarre and compelling and painfully funny, and something else, too: important."--John Wray, author of "Lowboy" "A vivid collection about the indignities and consolations of dead-end jobs, the joy of a stolen kiss, and the mysteries of friendship."--Nathaniel Rich, author of "Odds Against Tomorrow" "Said Sayrafiezadeh is a slyly subversive absurdist whose true subject is the deeply serious matter of our obligations to one another as human beings."--John Burnham Schwartz, author of "Northwest Corner" "Fun, moving, and reads like the work of a master."--Darin Strauss, author of "Half a Life" "Gritty, compelling stories about our embattled working class. This is a thrilling report from the trenches."--Edmund White, author of "Jack Holmes and His Friend" " " "Perfectly calibrated, laced with hard-earned moments of vulnerability, rendered in language that is at once plainspoken and lyrical."--Teddy Wayne, author of "The Love Song of Jonny Valentine " "An arresting fiction debut . . . With insightful humor and a keen eye for offbeat details, Sayrafiezadeh, entertaining and political without being heavy-handed, is a force to be reckoned with."--"Booklist" Praise for Said Sayrafiezadeh and "When Skateboards Will Be Free" "Sayrafiezadeh writes with extraordinary power and restraint. . . . This writer's prose has some of [Isaac Bashevis] Singer's wistful comedy, and a good deal of that writer's curiosity about the places where desire, self-sacrifice and societal obligation intersect and collide."--"The""New York Times" " " "[Sayrafiezadeh] writes with grace and clarity about growing up juggling deprivation and desire."--"Time" "A brave, honest and elegant book. It felt like the story was being whispered in my ear. I haven't read a memoir in quite a while that has so skillfully made sense of an American childhood."--Colum McCann