How to Breathe Underwater

by Julie Orringer

Book Overview

A New York Times notable book and winner of The Northern California Book Award for Best Short Fiction, these nine brave, wise, and spellbinding stories make up this debut. In "When She is Old and I Am Famous" a young woman confronts the inscrutable power of her cousin's beauty. In "Note to Sixth-Grade Self" a band of popular girls exert their social power over an awkward outcast. In "Isabel Fish" fourteen-year-old Maddy learns to scuba dive...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1400034361
• ISBN13: 9781400034369
• Release Date: April 2005
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.1" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

surprisingly wonderful

Orringer's writing is the most original, beautiful prose I've come across in a long time. The majority of her stories have a dark undertone, but the form is so light and beautiful, which makes them stay with you. I'd like to see one of the stories turned into a screenplay. The characters are rich, the dialogue halting. Just really fine literature.

Thank Goodness for Orchid

I discovered this marvelous collection of stories because of Amy Sumerton's interview with Julie Orringer in the fiction magazine, "Orchid: A Literary Review." Reading Orringer's collection reminded me of why I love short fiction. The first story, "Pilgrims" is one of the best stories I've ever read about dealing with illness and the title story is an outstanding depiction of a sibling relationship and much, much more. The two stories mentioned are my favorites but all of the stories are stellar. I thank Amy Sumerton of Orchid for introducing me to this fine author.

One of the best short story collections I've read

Simply incredible writing, full of wisdom and rare insights into the complexities of what it means to be human. Beautifully organized - a collection you will want to read from beginning to end, without jumping around, so you don't spill a single precious drop of the experience. If you have friends who only read novels, buy this book to convert them. Julie Orringer raises the bar for fiction, prodding at the limits of what can be achieved in words.

A phenomenal collection of stories

This is the best book I've read all year. In sharp, gorgeous language, Julie Orringer has written nine knockout stories that moved me deeply. I read one of the stories, "When She is Old and I am Famous," in the Paris Review two years ago, and I loved it so much that I kept Julie's name on a post-it note by my desk. I came across a few of the other stories in various places afterward, and loved them just as much as the first. The collection does not disappoint. Every story is beatifully crafted and compelling. Some are funny, some are sad, but they are all filled with great characters and dialogue, and they all work beautifully. I have recommended the book to all of my friends, and I anxiously await whatever else Ms. Orringer writes in the future.

wonderfully, hauntingly beautiful

One of the most hauntingly beautiful, poignant, moving books I have ever read. Short stories often leave me wanting more, but each story in this collection was incredibly fulfilling in its own right. Sad, mesmerizing and amazingly, touchingly human, these stories tug at the heart and stay with the soul. I so want her next book...