Ben Fountain Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Ben Fountain is a renowned and bestselling American Fiction writer. Born in 1958 in Chapel Hill North Carolina, he now resides in Dallas, Texas. He spent his childhood years in Elizabeth City and later moved to Cary located near Raleigh when he was 13.

In 1980, he graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Art in English from the University of North Carolina and in 1983 with a law degree from Duke University School of Law.

He practiced shortly practiced real estate law Akin Gump in Dallas but later quit his career and became a full-time fiction writer.

In 1985 Ben Fountain married the love of his life Sharon Monahan whom they had met when undertaking his law studies. They are blessed with two children.

Fountain has won many awards, for instance in 2007 he won PEN/Hemingway Award for his book Brief Encounters with Che Guevara. In 2012 he also received National Book Critics Circle Award for his debut book Billy Lynn Long Halftime Walk.

Ben Fountain has authored two novels Brief Encounters with Che Guevara and Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. He also authored two short fiction books; The Good Ones Are Already Taken and Near-Extinct Birds of the Central Cordillera.

EARLIEST BOOKS BY BEN FOUNTAIN

Brief Encounters with Che Guevara: Stories.

One of the earliest books written by the Dallas-based ex-lawyer is Brief Encounters with Che Guevara: Stories. A collection of eight thrilling stories. Fountain depicts his protagonist as Innocent and innocent American sent into violent backwaters of Burma, Haiti, Sierra Leone and the jungles of Columbia where they stumble in psychological, political and moral turbulent they barely understand. Fountain characters can be carefully compared with Graham Greene characters, but the difference is that Fountain characters pose no threat to anybody.

The first story in the collection is Near-Extinct Birds of the Central Cordillera. The story introduces a theme that is depicted in the entire novel. The storyline also introduces John Blair an aspiring Ph, D and an assistant slave, to him a twenty-dollar bill is his idea of big money. He enters the guerilla controlled jungles of Columbia to undertake his field works. He does not mind about anything, and he is confident that not even a single rebel would ever think of kidnapping him.

On the contrary, he is kidnapped and even accused by the rebels of being a spy. After a couple of weeks in captivity, Blair begs his kidnappers to allow him to finalize on his fieldwork even under guard watch. His captors grant him his wish and while on his fieldwork he stumbles upon a population of birds previously thought to be extinct. This seems a career-changing discovery for Blair, but will he finally get home with his skin?

Later a contingent of American business choppers arrives into the guerilla ruled jungles of Columbia. To his surprise, the American aboard the choppers have not come to save the poor chap but rather are on a business mission. They have the money and a ready to transact a deal with the money-starved guerillas.

It is revealed that the guerillas control vast acres of highly priced timber and to Blair’s surprise, the wood in question, in this case, is his bird’s natural habitat. Moreover, as expected, both parties brush off the plea of the half-crazed lad.

In this story and others in the same collection, the protagonist are portrayed to be under the oppressive rule of the other powerful and cynical parties. For instance in Asian Tiger, the protagonist, Sonny Grous who is a professional golf takes a job at a course in Burma. The country is ruled by iron-fisted, corrupt and golf loving generals. In search of meaningful life, Sonny is encountered challenges- first, he is approached and talked into losing the match to please the generals- later he is approached by a smooth-talking American who convinces him to accept a shady oil deal.

Billy Lynn’s Long Half-Time Walk

Billy Lynn’s Long Half-Time Walk is a collection of stories. One of the better stories is one set in Texas during the American Iraq War. This time, Fountain handles the female and male protagonist pretty well. He thrust Melissa, a 24yr old lady with her 15-month husband, a Special Forces captain. Her husband returns home from an eight-month mission in Haiti and declares that he is in a spiritual marriage with a voodoo goddess Erzulie. He convinces his wife that he still loves her and he is the same dirk. Thing turn for the worst, as he goes ahead to tell Melissa that he cannot have sex with her on Tuesdays and Saturdays because those are the days he is supposed to sleep with the voodoo goddess. However, Melissa will stop at nothing as she is determined to find a way to juggle with both parties- (the man she married and the spirit world he dived in).

Lions Mouth is set during the civil war in Sierra Leone and the storyline centers on a young American who is overmatched by corruption and violence. Jill, the protagonist, is featured as the director of a western relief organization in Sierra Leone. She gets involved with diamond traders and at one instance she suggests to her she smuggles some diamonds in her relief convoy. However, the thing turns out for the worst as her convoy is caught between peaceful villagers and the rebels- with the intent of slaughtering the friendly villagers.

BOOKS INTO MOVIES

On of Ben Fountain books Billy Lynn’s Long Half-Time Walk was adopted for the big screen TriStar Productions, Film4, and Polybona Films production companies. The film goes by the same name and features a 19yr old Billy Lynn and his fellow teammates (Bravo Squad). He is taken home for a brief victory tour, however, through flashbacks, it is revealed what exactly happened to the Bravo squad. The film depicts the different realities of the war to the perceptions of the Americans.

The film is set to be released on 11th November 2016 in the USA, and the cast crew will feature, the renowned Fast and Furious Star Vin Diesel, and the Rush Hour comedian Chris Tucker.