Joy: And 52 Other Very Short Stories

by Erin McGraw

Overview

“McGraw is wise and occasionally laugh–out–loud funny, with a seventh sense for the perfect turn of phrase . . . This quintessential collection of stories serves as an homage to the form while showcasing McGraw’s stunning talent and deep empathy for the idiosyncrasies, small joys, and despairs of human nature." —Publishers Weekly (starred and boxed review)

In Joy, narrators step out of themselves to explain their lives to us, sometimes defensively, sometimes regretfully, other times deceitfully. Voices include those of the impulsive first–time murderer, the depressed pet sitter, the assistant of Patsy Cline, the anxiety–riddled new mother, the aged rock–and–roller, the girlfriend of your husband—human beings often (incredibly) unaware of the turning points staring them in the face.

"How can stories this brief be so satisfying? . . . [McGraw] deals with the profound, the dire, the mundane, and the ridiculous, paying particular attention to relationships between parents and children, siblings, spouses, criminals, and their victims. While some stories are meant purely to amuse, many are intense and beautiful . . . Fifty–three gems that demonstrate all the things a short story can do. Wow." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781640093522
Publisher:	Catapult
Publication date:	03/17/2020
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.77(d)

About the Author

Erin McGraw, born and raised in Southern California, lived and taught for many years in the Midwest before retiring to rural Tennessee with her husband, poet Andrew Hudgins, and her dogs. She has written six previous books—three novels and three collections of stories—along with essays and occasional journalism. Find out more at erinmcgraw.com.

Table of Contents

America

Comfort (1)

Comfort (2)

Compliments

The Tenth Student

Second Sight

Phantom

Cloth

Friendship

Hallelujah Day

Haircut

Rock and Roll

L.A.

Before

Spice

Learning

Hope

Breaking Glass

Sympathy

Ava Gardner Goes Home

Law and Order

Love

Management

Snitch

Edits

Hello from an Old Friend

Cat

Nobody Happy

Soup (1)

Soup (2)

Soup (3)

Song

Fat

Pebble

Pariah

Priest

Artist

Parable

Happiness

Dogs

Job

Wedding Gown

Joy

Peru

Necropolis

Honor

Bucket (1)

Bucket (2)

Cliche

Nutcracker

Stingers

Teeth

Prayer

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Joy

A The Millions Most Anticipated Book of the Month
A Big Other Most Anticipated Small Press Book of the Year



Praise for Joy

A The Millions Most Anticipated Book of the Month
A Big Other Most Anticipated Small Press Book of the Year

“Prolific novelist and short story writer Erin McGraw proves her mastery of short–form craft in this collection of 53 very short stories, each no more than a few pages. They provide a diverse array of slice–of–life vignettes about characters with vastly different lives, who are strung together by the universal messiness of their humanity.” —Sarah Neilson, The Brooklyn Rail

“The perfect title to pick up this year . . . The stories in this collection are both profound and mundane . . . Leav[ing] you wondering how McGraw packs so much punch in such limited space.” —Wendy J. Fox, Self

“In these quick, delightful reads, the Sewanee, Tennessee–based writer Erin McGraw imagines the lives of such characters as mothers, siblings, the drummer of a fading band, and the personal assistant to Patsy Cline. At turns poignant and hilarious, you might just read it all in one sitting.” —CJ Lotz, Garden & Gun, A Book to Read This Month

“There’s something immensely satisfying about a very short story (particularly one that bills itself as a 'very short story' rather than 'flash fiction'), and I’m looking forward to a whole collection of them . . . Based on the other stories I’ve read of McGraw’s, I have high hopes for both humor and devastation.” —Emily Temple, Literary Hub, One of the Most Anticipated Books of the Year

“Erin McGraw pulls no punches in her new collection of microstories . . . By turns angry, disturbing, darkly funny, poignant, or tragic, each narrator claims the spotlight momentarily to tell a powerful story . . . The amount of emotional weight she is able to pack into such brief encounters leaves no doubt that Joy is a virtuoso performance.” —Tina Chambers, Chapter 16

“Across fifty–three very short stories, McGraw deftly navigates the abbreviated form. Even those readers skeptical of flash fiction will find themselves enthralled by McGraw’s work on the page: elegant, complex development of characters whose short narratives carry real emotional heft . . . McGraw’s primary gifts, however, are depicting average people drawn into extraordinary circumstances and highlighting the extraordinary nature of otherwise average circumstances.” —Annie Adams, The Sewanee Review

“Full of compulsively readable little stories that each feel developed beyond their few pages. Some are ironic or clever; others are poignant and wrenching; all of them are driven by McGraw’s strong, confident sense of voice for her characters . . . The beauty of this book is in how McGraw makes us love them for all their human flaws and fragile hopes.” —Chauna Craig, New York Journal of Books

“In McGraw’s latest short story collection, a mother mourns the tragic loss of her child, a college student mocks the absurdity of a team–building exercise, and a man reckons with the truth about himself after taking a young boy’s life. Each of the Sewanee–based author’s 53 stories is only a few pages long but provides a searing look inside the story’s narrator, striking an often darkly funny tone.” —Kate Parrish, Nashville Lifestyles

“McGraw’s fourth collection proves she’s a master of the form . . . It is astonishing what she is able to conjure up in the span of a few pages . . . McGraw is wise and occasionally laugh–out–loud funny, with a seventh sense for the perfect turn of phrase . . . This quintessential collection of stories serves as an homage to the form while showcasing McGraw’s stunning talent and deep empathy for the idiosyncrasies, small joys, and despairs of human nature.” —Publishers Weekly (starred and boxed review)

“How can stories this brief be so satisfying? . . . [McGraw] deals with the profound, the dire, the mundane, and the ridiculous, paying particular attention to relationships between parents and children, siblings, spouses, criminals and their victims. While some stories are meant purely to amuse, many are intense and beautiful . . . Fifty–three gems that demonstrate all the things a short story can do. Wow.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“In this poignant and sweeping collection of short stories, McGraw paints a beautiful and multifaceted portrait of domestic life in modern America . . . The stories find humanity in every situation, no matter how unsympathetic. Readers will find themselves understanding adulterers and murderers, not for their destructive choices but for the greater sum of their lives—an impressive feat, considering the brevity of the format.” —Booklist

“[A] collection of very short stories for reading on the train, in line at the supermarket, while walking down the street, at the dentist, or anywhere else you can jam a few paragraphs in. And just think: you’ll be able to add 'read a short story' (or ten) to your list of completed tasks for the day. Fun!” —Emily Temple, Literary Hub

From the Publisher

★ 01/14/2019

McGraw’s fourth collection proves she’s a master of the form. Across these 53 brief stories, it is astonishing what she is able to conjure up in the span of a few pages. In “Second Sight,” a married lesbian couple on the rocks has their relationship resuscitated after receiving unconventional help from one of the women’s mothers. Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra return to Ava’s home for a family gathering in “Ava Gardner Goes Home.” There are stories told entirely in dialogue (“Friendship”), in nonlinear order (“Pebble”), and as a prayer (“Prayer”). A few of the stories examine events from the viewpoints of different characters, such as “Comfort (1)” and “Comfort (2),” which tell the story of the killing of a young boy from both the unrepentant murderer and the grieving mother’s sides, or “Bucket (1)” and “Bucket (2),” in which an advice columnist receives a letter he thinks is from his wife before the second story reveals its true author. McGraw (The Good Life) is wise and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, with a seventh sense for the perfect turn of phrase (a mouth is “just on the brink of an expression,” a “dreamy girl... must have fallen into his hands like a plum”). This quintessential collection of stories serves as an homage to the form while showcasing McGraw’s stunning talent and deep empathy for the idiosyncrasies, small joys, and despairs of human nature. Agent: Gail Hochman, Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 2018-11-13

How can stories this brief be so satisfying?

The travails of Patsy Cline's personal assistant and those of Ava Gardner on a rare visit to her hometown. Of a chorus member in a high school production of West Side Story, a bridal store clerk, a rapist's daughter, a self-pitying stalker. A pair of stories narrated by an accidental murderer and the mother of the child he killed; a trio that explore the relationship between a woman dying of cancer, her husband, and a not-very-close friend who has appointed herself head caretaker. A hilarious report from the drummer of an aging rock band on a reunion tour. McGraw's (Better Food for a Better World, 2013) fourth collection of stories—her seventh book—deals with the profound, the dire, the mundane, and the ridiculous, paying particular attention to relationships between parents and children, siblings, spouses, criminals and their victims. While some stories are meant purely to amuse, many are intense and beautiful. "These times come for no reason and too rarely, days and evenings that quiver like a bee's wing": So begins the title story, which deals with the possibility of joy after everything one loves is gone, from a sister whose "pealing laughter used to unfurl all the way across the playground" to an Irish setter who knew how to lick a person's feet "from ankle to toes, until he'd licked the day away." The last story, "Prayer," is just that, a direct address to God that explores the utility of spiritual faith in helping a person resist having an affair with a married woman. "Because you created choice. Because life is an endless success of choose, choose, choose, and eventually we're going to choose wrong, and then discover you waiting at the threshold of that wrong choice.…Because her husband's name is Gary, and I have never met a Gary I didn't like."

Fifty-three gems that demonstrate all the things a short story can do. Wow.

Kirkus Reviews