Delicate Edible Birds: And Other Stories

by Lauren Groff

Overview

"Richly conceived, finely detailed stories . . . of smart, daring women who are in search of, in thrall to, or disillusioned by love" (Booklist).
"Nine wildly unique, exquisitely symphonic tales, full of beauty, tragedy, and the sudden horror of shocking images—this is Groff's gift to readers. And what a gift it is." —Library Journal
From Lauren Groff, author of the critically acclaimed and New York Times bestselling novel Fates and Furies, comes Delicate Edible Birds, one of the most striking short fiction debuts in years. Here are nine stories of astonishing insight and variety, each revealing a resonant drama within the life of a twentieth-century American woman.
"[An] innovative and beautifully written collection that covers a wide swath of humanity, from east coast resort towns, to the early twentieth century flu epidemic, to WWII Europe." —Publishers Weekly
"Tales of ordinary transformations and everyday occurrences are made magical in a collection of nine stories by Groff. . . . Groff's skill makes commonplace occurrences seem compelling." —Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781401396374
Publisher:	Hachette Books
Publication date:	09/24/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	242
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Lauren Groff is the author of The Monsters of Templeton, shortlisted for the Orange Prize for New Writers; Arcadia, a New York Times Notable Book, winner of the Medici Book Club Prize, and finalist for the L.A. Times Book Award; and Fates and Furies, a National Book Award finalist. Her writing has appeared in the New Yorker, the Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, Tin House, One Story, McSweeney's, and Ploughshares, and in the anthologies 100 Years of the Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses, PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories, and three editions of The Best American Short Stories. She lives in Gainesville, Florida, with her husband and two sons.

Hometown:

Gainesville, FL, USA

Date of Birth:

July 23, 1978

Place of Birth:

Cooperstown, NY, USA

Education:

BA English and French Literature, Amherst College, 201: MFA in Fiction, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2006

Website:

http://www.laurengroff.com

Editorial Reviews

Tales of ordinary transformations and everyday occurrences are made magical in a collection of nine stories by Groff (The Monsters of Templeton, 2008). The details make the difference in this sophomore effort. They range from specific realities, as when a lonely teen swimmer watches her breath rise in "a great silver jellyfish-bubble of air" before her small town falls apart in "Lucky Chow Fun," to dreamlike metaphor, as when another young woman feels her depression as "this black sack filled with cobras" in "Majorette." "Lucky Chow Fun," which returns to Templeton, the fictionalized Cooperstown, N.Y., of the author's debut novel, was previously published, as was the vivid "L. DeBard and Aliette," a retelling of a tragic romance, set in New York during the flu epidemic of 1918. As a collection, the stories are loosely connected by their themes of metamorphosis, as girls grow up, lose their illusions and, often, find unexpected happiness. Images of water and fire run through these tales as well: Aliette, the Heloise substitute, regains her strength after polio via swimming lessons with the handsome L. DeBard, and, in "Watershed," a diver tells of an elderly couple who end their pain by diving into a waterfall. "There is no ending, no neatness in this story," the narrator offers. "There never really is, where water is concerned." The "wild, febrile, kind, ambiguous" nature of the elements may serve to explain the power in these stories, which could have faltered in the hands of a lesser writer. Groff's skill makes commonplace occurrences seem compelling. Agent: Bill Clegg/William Morris Agency

Kirkus Reviews

"It takes only a few pages to see that Ms. Groff can write—really write."—New York Observer

"Delicate Edible Birds is wonderfully imaginative, subtle and precise, brimming over with brave and fascinating women. . . . A dazzling collection to make all those readers who are wary of short stories think again."—newbooks

"In her strongest writing, Groff echoes the magic of her gothic forebears."—Financial Times

"Groff's prose is lovely, and when she nails a story—like the title story about journalists fleeing Nazi-occupied Paris—the results are sublime."—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher