The Goodbye Process: Stories

by Mary Jones

Overview

A National Bestseller!

Longlisted for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection

Longlisted for THE STORY PRIZE

A Library Journal Best Book of 2024!

A Most Exciting Debut Short Story Collection of 2024 by Electric Literature

“Short story fans might just discover their new favorite author in this arresting collection, a must-have.” —Library Journal (starred review)

What happens when you are forced to let go of the things you love the most? What are you left with?

In this stunning debut short story collection, Mary Jones uses her distinctive voice to examine the painful and sometimes surreal ways we say goodbye. The stories—which range from tender and heartbreaking to unsettling and darkly funny—are connected by the central theme of letting go.

A woman camps out on the porch of an ex-lover who has barricaded himself inside; a preteen girl caught shoplifting lands in grave danger; a man hires a professional mourner to ensure his wife’s funeral is a success. Time and again, Jones’s characters find themselves facing the ends of things: relationships, health, and innocence.

Arresting and original, The Goodbye Process packs a punch, just the way grief does―knocking us off our feet.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781958506646
Publisher:	Zibby Publishing
Publication date:	07/30/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Mary Jones’s work has appeared in Electric Literature’s Recommended Reading, Subtropics, EPOCH, and The Best American Essays, and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Originally from upstate New York, she lives in Los Angeles. 

Editorial Reviews

The stories of The Goodbye Process are startling, haunting, and original. Mary Jones captures the eerie light that transfuses those often-forgotten and overlooked corners of the heart. These stories shape shift and beguile, offering up their remarkable insights with wit and genuine style. A brilliant book of stories.”
—Brandon Taylor, author of The Late Americans

“Mary Jones builds enormous depth in direct clear sentences—over and over again, I found myself moved and wowed by how much she packed into a moment, how swiftly she could conjure a person. And she pulls us in, too—her words have these subtle magnets in them, drawing a reader close. Thrilling abundance here.”
—Aimee Bender, author of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

“Mary Jones’s delightful story collection, The Goodbye Process, is full of surprises; sometimes funny, often heartbreaking, always memorable.”
—Jill McCorkle, author of Old Crimes: and Other Stories

"Keenly felt and observed, always humane, the stories in Jones’s debut begin where all the best stories do: the end of one thing, the start of the next. The Goodbye Process introduces an arresting new voice."
—Taylor Koekkoek, author of Thrillville, USA

"In these exquisite and emotionally distilled stories, Jones illuminates the mysterious corners of grief and grace with poignancy and spiky humor. While wholly original, Jones’s prose shares literary DNA with Mary Gaitskill, Aimee Bender, and Amy Hempel. Her explorations of sex, sorrow, and wonder are transfixing and brilliant. This is a must-read collection."
—Mary Otis, author of Yes, Yes, Cherries

“All of the stories speak to some kind of loss, and they range from typical slice of life to surreal fever dream . . . With 28 stories, some just a paragraph long, readers can stay engaged through the entirety of the collection or find their favorites to reread over and over. Short story fans might just discover their new favorite author in this arresting collection, a must-have.”
—Library Journal (starred review)

“Instantly absorbing . . . The title story, the last in the collection, is a beautiful rendering of a final goodbye. This is a broad selection for those who like stories. Jones is an author to watch.”
—AudioFile Magazine

“Jones’ debut short story collection introduces a new, captivating voice…The Goodbye Process is not only about loss and grief, but also love and healing. It’s deeply human—and a remarkable read.”
—Electric Literature

“The power of the story collection creeps up slowly . . . The cumulative effect of these stories is intense, and the contrast between the understated writing and the shocking events works exceedingly well every time. Powerful, well-crafted short stories that sneak up on the reader to deliver a jolt. Our verdict: GET IT.”
–Kirkus Reviews

“Original, eloquent, emotionally impacting, deftly crafted, and memorable, author Mary Jones raises each of her short stories comprising The Goodbye Process to an impressive level of literary excellence.”
–Midwest Book Review

“In crafting these flashes of fiction, Mary Jones has adventured into the limits of that form, practicing with time compression, and linguistic rug pulling, and an audacious love for dialogue that feels urgent and real, down to the level of sound. I was shocked by my reactions to these stories, emotive and intellectual, and I know you will love them.”
–Chris Holmes, Burned By Books

From the Publisher

2024-10-29
A debut collection of short stories about illness, family, and sudden twists of fate.

Jones’ book disconcerts at first. The stories don’t seem to relate to one another, and a few are very brief, like “The Father” (less than two pages) and “The Short History of her Heart” (three paragraphs). Eventually, the themes and concerns overlap: Multiple stories follow Eleanor, who’s in late-stage cancer, and the repercussions of the fatal illness on her family. The collection also explores endings of various kinds. Relationships fall apart, people get sick and die, situations change. Another commonality is unexpected, even brutal, behavior. Two older women beat up a younger pregnant woman in “I’ll Go With You.” In “Realtor,” the main character snips off the tip of his nose with scissors in a misguided attempt to save his relationship. A car crashes into a living room in “Help Will be Here Soon,” and an estranged uncle shows a disturbingly keen interest in his almost 11-year-old niece in the violent “Thanksgiving.” Characters might try kindness, but their efforts are often futile. For example, in Eleanor’s family, “Everyone wanted to be the one whose job it was to keep the washrag on her forehead cold,” but holding the washrag is a one-person job, and it doesn’t help that Eleanor has a lump the “size of a grapefruit” (a fine example of the author’s wry humor and insight into family dynamics). Characters often lash out in the face of their helplessness, but even when they do awful things, Jones uses dark humor to convey their humanity. The power of the story collection creeps up slowly. At first, the writing style seems almost drab (“Her father died. My father left her. Her mother died. And we all grew up and moved away”). But the cumulative effect of these stories is intense, and the contrast between the understated writing and the shocking events works exceedingly well every time.

Powerful, well-crafted short stories that sneak up on the reader to deliver a jolt.

Kirkus Reviews