title: The EXPENDABLES: STORIES
author:  Antonya Nelson 
description: <i>San Francisco Chronicle</i> Nelson pries at the tight and awkward knots of relationships, getting into places where tenderness and need are buried. Her eye is unflinching and her narrative touch subtle and precise.<br /><br /><i>Los Angeles Times</i> A fine collection...compassionate and excruciatingly realistic.<br /><br />Melissa Pritchard <i>Chicago Tribune</i> With edgy wit and sweet empathy, Nelson dissects conflict between contemporary men and women.<br /><br />Raymond Carver We see what it is that the best young writers have to offer -- a kind of pizzazz, the love of undercurrent, of voyeuristic intensity, a bewildered fascination with ritual as it has been undermined in our time.
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  ![title page](../Images/image00240.jpeg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Dedication](part0005.xhtml#ded_01)
  
  
  
  
  
  To Nelson, who was worth every risk
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Epigraph](part0005.xhtml#epi_01)
  
  
  
  
  
  Like a wild animal, the truth is too powerful to remain caged.
  
  
  --From the Candor faction manifesto
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Contents
  
  
  [Dedication](part0003.xhtml#ded01)
  
  
  [Epigraph](part0004.xhtml#epi01)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter One](part0006.xhtml#ch01)
  
  
  [Chapter Two](part0007.xhtml#ch02)
  
  
  [Chapter Three](part0008.xhtml#ch03)
  
  
  [Chapter Four](part0009.xhtml#ch04)
  
  
  [Chapter Five](part0010.xhtml#ch05)
  
  
  [Chapter Six](part0011.xhtml#ch06)
  
  
  [Chapter Seven](part0012.xhtml#ch07)
  
  
  [Chapter Eight](part0013.xhtml#ch08)
  
  
  [Chapter Nine](part0014.xhtml#ch09)
  
  
  [Chapter Ten](part0015.xhtml#ch10)
  
  
  [Chapter Eleven](part0016.xhtml#ch1