Night Sounds and Other Stories

By Karen Gettert Shoemaker

Book Overview

A woman recalls the freedom and power of childhood games; a surprise anniversary party goes awry when the husband is hospitalized and the fault lines and strengths of a family are laid bare; a teacher rediscovers her calling amidst unthinkable tragedy; a lonely woman recognizes her responsibility to her sister's troubled life-in this collection of stories the prose and passion of life are brought together in ways that show both the complexity and the simplicity of living. Told against a Midwest background, they focus mainly on women's experiences, yet nonetheless reflect universal conditions. This is what makes Karen Gettert Shoemaker's style so affecting and her stories so appealing. These stories show the importance of knowing the preciousness of this life, whatever form it takes. These are simple stories, told with a grace and elegance that belies their joyful art and craft. "Crafted with care and grace. This book establishes Shoemaker as a talented chronicler of rural life and domestic gestures, with an eye for what's funny in grief, and what's sad in humor."-Publishers Weekly "Short stories at their finest can be the ultimate in fiction: compressed gems that in a few words can create memorable people and emotions out of thin air. Shoemaker's first collection contains such, and readers will laugh and cry at her spare portrayals of loss and friendship... . This is a powerful and valuable collection."-Library Journal

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080231337X
• ISBN13: 9780802313379
• Release Date: May 2002
• Publisher: Dufour Editions
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

quiet elegance

Karen Shoemaker's debut collection of stories is beautiful, elegant and heartbreaking. So much fiction I read today relies too much on sensationlism, but not Shoemaker. Her stories are quiet triumphs, and I can return to this book again and again. Though her stories are set in the midwest, I find her topics and scope reaches across the country. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has appreciated the work of Marly Swick, Ann Beattie, Anne Tyler, and more. Enjoy!