Synopses & Reviews
The ten stories in this striking debut collection examine the perils of love and what it means to live during an era when people will offer themselves, almost unthinkingly, to strangers. Risks and repercussions are never fully weighed. People leap and almost always land on rocky ground. May-December romances flourish in these stories, as do self-doubt and, in many cases, serious regret. Mysterious, dangerous benefactors, dead and living artists, movie stars and college professors, plagiarists, and distinguished foreign novelists are among the many different characters. No one is blameless, but villains are difficult to single out-everyone seemingly bears responsibility for his or her desires and for the outcome of difficult choices so often made hopefully and naively.
Review
"It's easy to get beaten down by this job: Read a series of mediocre books and you begin to feel like you've lost that loving feeling. The best part of the gig is that a book always comes around to smack you out of your daze. Sneed's debut story collection was this year's wake-up call. Simply beautifully written stories.” Time Out Chicago
Review
"Sneed’s first collection was awarded the Grace Paley Prize in Short Fiction, an honor clearly deserved given the lucidity of her style, the depth of her perception, and her supple mix of wit, frankness, and compassion. Beautifully interiorized, her provocative stories explore unbalanced relationships, particularly between men and women of differing ages....With a surprisingly futuristic and funny closing story, this is an exceptionally smart, connective, and moving collection." Booklist
Review
"This is a collection to relish, not only for the care that is evident in each turn of phrase, but for its ability to turn weaknesses into thoughtful, sometimes melancholy explorations of contemporary adulthood." ForeWord
Synopsis
Stories that explore the tragicomic aspects of romantic love.
About the Author
Christine Sneed teaches creative writing and literature courses at DePaul University. A graduate of the MFA creative writing program at Indiana University, she has published stories in Best American Short Stories 2008, New England Review, Massachusetts Review, and many other journals. Visit the author's website at www.christinesneed.com.