Temporary Stories: A Short Story

Daniel Orozco

Sep 2011 · Sold by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

About this ebook

A triptych chronicling the unexpectedly epic adventures of an ordinary office temp.

"Temporary Stories" appears in Daniel Orozco's critically acclaimed collection Orientation, which leads the reader through the hidden lives and moral philosophies of bridge painters, men housebound by obesity, office temps, and warehouse workers. He reveals the secret pleasures of late-night supermarket trips for cookie binges, exceptional data entry, and an exiled dictator's occasional piss on the U.S. embassy. A love affair blooms between two officers in the impartially worded pages of a police blotter; a new employee's first-day office tour includes descriptions of other workers' most private thoughts and actions; during an earthquake, the consciousness of the entire state of California shakes free for examination.

Orientation introduces a writer at the height of his powers, whose work surely invites us to reassess the landscape of American fiction.

Ratings and reviews

Daniel Orozco is a really good writer. I love how "Temporary Stories" works by putting this character in a tight position, proverbial rock and hard place. She can't catch a break in the story it seems because none of the people she encounters in her life can catch a break. That seems to say a lot in itself. Clarissa Snow, the character's name, also has the perfect personality for the intense struggle depicted in the story. She's someone whose conscience speaks, compelling her to act, not necessarily out of empathy or sympathy, but rather she's moved to quiet the conscience that giving her that uncomfortable caring feeling. Rather than living a life trying to solve, or just soothe the sores, of unsolvable problems, she's content to be away from the den of troubles that she has to encounter in the world. They don't leave her alone though, not in this story. There's irony in the jobs she do (a temp hired to give info about jobs to ppl. whom were laid-off). Also there's irony in her personality, how she finds comfort in being near people, but can't handle their problems in her life. It's a cool little story, short and sweet as they say.

As a professional temp worker, these stories hit the bullseye! Well written, colorful yet subtle descriptions entice double takes. Recommend.

About the author

Daniel Orozco's stories have appeared in The Best American Short Stories, The Best American Mystery Stories, The Best American Essays, and the Pushcart Prize anthology, as well as in publications such as Harper's Magazine, Zoetrope: All-Story, McSweeney's, Ecotone, and StoryQuarterly. He was awarded a 2006 NEA Fellowship in fiction, and was a finalist for a 2006 National Magazine Award in fiction. A former Stegner Fellow and Jones Lecturer at Stanford, he teaches creative writing at the University of Idaho.