Wuori, G. K.

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WUORI, G. K.

PERSONAL:

Born in De Kalb, IL. Education: Earned undergraduate degree from Northern Illinois University; Purdue University, Ph.D.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Sycamore, IL. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, P.O. Box 2225, Chapel Hill, NC 27515. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer. Worked variously in construction and tourism; journalist and instructor at colleges and universities.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Winner, Pushcart Prize for fiction, 1976.

WRITINGS:

Nude in Tub: Stories of Quillifarkeag, Maine, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC), 1999.

An American Outrage: A Novel of Quillifarkeag, Maine, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC), 2000.

Contributor to literary magazines, including Gettysburg Review, Another Chicago Magazine, Chicago Review, Massachusetts Review, Prairie Schooner, and Five Points.

SIDELIGHTS:

American author G. K. Wuori grew up in rural Illinois and lived all over the United States, before returning to the area in which he grew up. Having earned a doctorate in philosophy at Purdue University, Wuori has worked in a number of positions at universities, colleges, and newspapers, as well as stints in the construction and tourism industries. Throughout his life, he has written many critically acclaimed short stories and other fiction, and was the 1976 winner of a Pushcart Prize in fiction.

In 1999, Wuori published a collection of his short stories, Nude in Tub: Stories of Quillifarkeag, Maine. The eighteen stories are loosely connected and all take place in the fictional town of the title. Wuori peoples his tales with dysfunctional characters in bizarre circumstances. A husband and wife are kidnapped, then seek revenge on their kidnappers, in "Revenge." A young woman gives author Stephen King a tour of the factory where her mother committed mass murder in "Parents," and a man makes startling revelations about his elderly neighbors in "Illusions."

Reviews of Nude in Tub praised Wuori's talents as a storyteller. One Publishers Weekly contributor wrote that the stories' strengths lie in "Wuori's strong taste for the out-of-whack and his considerable ability to render the depravity of humankind with humor and good will." Other reviewers also picked up on the author's skill of mixing humor with serious subjects. "Wuori moves through the collection with an assured voice that's as adept at humor as it is at less savory fare," commented Chris Solomon in the New York Times Book Review.

In 2000, Wuori wrote and published his first novel, An American Outrage: A Novel of Quillifarkeag, Maine. Wuori again takes his reader to the town of Quillifarkeag to interact with the unusual characters who live there. The plot of the novel revolves around Ellen DeLay, a woman who accidentally becomes locked in her husband's truck toolbox for three days. When she finally escapes, she realizes that she wants to end her marriage of twenty-five years, and moves to the woods to dress game killed by local hunters. When DeLay is murdered one night by a group of police officers, her best friend, Wilma, plots revenge against DeLay's attackers.

Critics lauded Wuori's efforts in An American Outrage. "Wuori's real gift lies in his dark humor, oddball casting, and ability to choreograph and perfectly capture those precise and often-camouflaged moments in a life when everything changes," wrote a Publishers Weekly reviewer. Another critic praised Wuori's skill in character development." Deep, rich and well written, this novel includes characters who are alive with detail and deep with motivation," observed Library Journal contributor Joanna Burkhardt.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Book, November, 2000, Dan Koenig, review of An American Outrage: A Novel of Quillifarkeag, Maine, p. 82.

Booklist, March 1, 1999, Bonnie Johnston, review of Nude in Tub: Stories of Quillifarkeag, Maine, p. 1157; October 1, 2000, GraceAnne A. DeCandido, review of An American Outrage, p. 325.

Chicago Tribune, May 9, 1999, Robin Hemley, "Darkly Comic Tales Take on Life in Small-town America," p. 4; January 28, 2001, Noah Isackson, "Return to Quillifarkeag," p. 4.

Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 1999, review of Nude in Tub, p. 101.

Library Journal, October 1, 2000, Joanna Burkhardt, review of An American Outrage, p. 149.

New York Times Book Review, June 6, 1999, Chris Solomon, "Baedeker Never Made It Here," p. 33; December 31, 2000, Michael Porter, "Pursuit of the Nut Lady," p. 15.

Publishers Weekly, December 21, 1998, review of Nude in Tub, p. 52; August 21, 2000, review of An American Outrage, p. 45.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Colleen Kelly, "Elements of Folksiness, Brutality Permeate Story of a Maine Killing," p. 9.

Washington Post, October 13, 2000, Carolyn See, review of An American Outrage, p. 8.