By Noy
Holland
Holland
400
pages; Counterpoint
pages; Counterpoint
Over the
past two decades, Noy Holland has been quietly publishing some of the finest
short stories written in the English language. This collection brings together
44 of her best.
past two decades, Noy Holland has been quietly publishing some of the finest
short stories written in the English language. This collection brings together
44 of her best.
Ranging in length from 73 pages (the unforgettable story
“Orbit” about young siblings living alone in a home with their dying
mother) to a single chiseled page, these dazzling fictions conjure every
emotion you can name and, more importantly, those you can’t.
“Nothing
lasts, but nothing is finished, either,” she writes. “The brain boils
and cools, same as many things, heals with the slickness of scars.”
lasts, but nothing is finished, either,” she writes. “The brain boils
and cools, same as many things, heals with the slickness of scars.”
By
turns earthy, reverent, poetic and wry, these stories don’t so much
“describe what it feels like” as make you feel what it feels like—the “it” being
what it is to be fully alive in the world.
turns earthy, reverent, poetic and wry, these stories don’t so much
“describe what it feels like” as make you feel what it feels like—the “it” being
what it is to be fully alive in the world.
— Dawn
Raffel
Raffel
Credit: Oprah.com
