Books published by publisher Knopf :distributed by Random House

The Duck Variations is a dialogue between two old men sitting on a park bench. The conversation turns to the mating habits of ducks, but soon begins to reveal their feelings about natural law, friendship, and death. New York magazine has called The Duck Variations “a gorgeously written, wonderfully observant piece whose timing and atmosphere are close to flawless.”

Bailey Tarbell is in a pickle. A tornado swooped down and sucked all the animals on her farm up into the air. When it finally spat them out again, they were all mixed up. The cow now clucks and tries to sit on eggs, the cat chases the dog who hisses and runs up trees, the pig quacks, the duck moos, and the chickens are all rooting in the mud. What’s a farm girl to do? The vet is stumped, demonstrating proper behavior hasn’t helped, even hypnosis is a flop. But then–eureka!–Bailey gets a brainstorm to beat that tornado. She loads all the animals into the truck and heads for the carnival! After a wild ride on “The Twister,” the animals are all singing the right tunes again. But now Bailey is a little mixed up. . . .