“Never far from a dining table, the characters in Heather A. Slomski's limpid and elegant debut collection are not given to melodramatics. Civility reigns, voices are not raised, much goes unsaid. But just beneath the sophisticated composure are longing, loss, heartbreak. And how intensely familiar is the table itself, which made this reader suddenly understand how much of our real life takes place there. Heather A. Slomski is truly a fresh voice on the scene, and The Lovers Set Down Their Spoons is that rare thing, a new book as innovative in its design as it is compulsively readable.” MadeBookRealCharacterGivenVoiceLossDesignReaderLoversSceneTablesLongingRaisedReal LifeFamiliarCollectionsSophisticatedReignElegantInnovativeCivilitySpoonsDiningNew BooksDebutUnsaidComposureRare ThingsHeathersDining Table Author:Jaimy Gordon
“The novel...creates a bemusing effect. The short story, on the other hand wakes the reader up. Not only that, it answers the primitive craving for art, the wit, paradox and beauty of shape, the longing to see a dramatic pattern and significance in our experience.” ArtStoriesHandsAnswersNovelEffectsReaderShapesLongingPatternsWitDramaticSignificanceParadoxShort StoryPrimitiveCraving Author:V. S. Pritchett
“The shimmering, lucid tones and silver melancholy of I'll Be Right There give readers a South Korea peopled with citizens fighting for honor and intellectual freedom, and longing for love and solace. Kyung-Sook Shin's characters have unforgettable voices-it's no wonder she has so many fans.” GivingCharacterFightingVoiceWonderFansReaderCitizensHonorIntellectualLongingSouthToneSilverMelancholyKoreaSolaceUnforgettableSouth KoreaIntellectual Freedom Author:Susan Straight
“A reader is entitled to believe what he or she believes is consonant with the facts of the book. It is not unusual that readers take away something that is spiritually at variance from what I myself experienced. That's not to say readers make up the book they want. We all have to agree on the facts. But readers bring their histories and all sets of longings. A book will pluck the strings of those longings differently among different readers.” WantBelieveBookDifferentFactsReaderAgreeLongingStringsUnusualEntitledPluckVarianceConsonants Author:Richard Ford
“Glen Hirshberg's stories are haunting, absolutely, but not only because of the content -- the stories themselves haunt, they stick around, they linger, inhabiting a little corner of the reader's brain and resurfacing to evoke mystery or sadness or longing. It's a pleasure to dive into Hirshberg's storytelling skills in American Morons.” LittlesStoriesPleasureBrainMysterySadnessReaderSkillsLongingSticksCornersStorytellingHauntingEvokeMoron Author:Aimee Bender