From the Publisher
Praise for The Dark Dark
An iBooks Best Book of July
A Paris Review staff pick
A W Magazine Book by Women Writers to Read This Summer
A Chicago Review of Books Book You Need to Read This Summer
“The Dark Dark . . . wields such a subtle and alien power that I couldn’t read more than a couple of pieces in a sitting without feeling like some witchy substance was working its way through my blood . . . Wonderfully spooky.” —Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker
"The Dark Dark reads like a feminist manifesto threaded through imaginative fiction; it’s the most evocative, impressive collection I’ve read this year." —Daniel Johnson, The Paris Review
"These short stories are works of dark, dark magic that skitter between worlds both recognizable and wholly new. Fans of Hunt's work will revel in her first story collection, which marries her signature flare for the fantastic with keen observation and sharp prose . . . Grab your comforter and a flashlight for this tour de force collection from one of our most inventive storytellers." —Kirkus, starred review
"Designed to jolt and beguile . . . This excellent, inventive collection . . . is rife with observant asides, sly humor, and surprises." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2017-04-18
These short stories are works of dark, dark magic that skitter between worlds both recognizable and wholly new.Fans of Hunt's work (Mr. Splitfoot, 2016, etc.) will revel in her first story collection, which marries her signature flare for the fantastic with keen observation and sharp prose. In "Beast," a woman transforms into a deer each night and frets about how her newfound wild side will affect her marriage. The strip mall sadness of rural Pennsylvania pushes the grown siblings in "Cortés the Killer" to make a series of terrible decisions. A woman moves to Florida to escape memories of a miscarriage, but they come flooding back during a hurricane in "The House Began to Pitch." And, in "Love Machine," a lonely FBI agent botches a mission in order to consummate his love for a killer robot. Even when things get strange, Hunt pins language to the page with such precision that you'll never doubt her for a moment. Not even when, in "All Hands," 13 teenage girls get pregnant in an homage to the Founding Fathers—then steal a moment between classes to "[lift] off the ground" like "floating balloons...full of grace." Hunt also has a knack for writing about the particular sadness and anxiety of middle-aged women in suburban and rural America, whether precipitated by motherhood, marriage, or loneliness. As one narrator remarks in "Love Story," "while no one wants to hear about middle-aged female sexual desire, I don't care anymore what no one thinks." Thankfully, Hunt is more than good enough to make you care. Grab your comforter and a flashlight for this tour de force collection from one of our most inventive storytellers.
