The sexual life of savages and other stories cover

The sexual life of savages and other stories

by Stokes Howell

From the dark side of rural and urban life comes Stokes Howell's collection of stories. Italo Calvino wrote on five essential attributes of fiction: lightness, quickness, exactitude, visibility, and multiplicity. Stokes Howell's stories embody these essentials. Each story is tough and quick, each observation lightly wrought with an exactitude that churns with freight. A dark, brooding morbidity; a harrowed, sexual tour de force. Sex is the engine that drives these tales: under the Brooklyn Bridge, in a restaurant bathroom, on the banks of the Mississippi. These stories are jazz riffs on abandonment. The human animals grunt and slink and desire their way toward satisfaction, or mystery, or heaven.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?