A short-story collection from the acclaimed author of The Great
Believers
Named a must-read by the Chicago Tribune**, O Magazine,**
BuzzFeed**,** The Huffington Post**,** Minneapolis
Star-Tribune**, and The L Magazine**
Rebecca Makkai's first two novels, The Borrower and The Hundred-Year
House, have established her as one of the freshest and most imaginative
voices in fiction. Now, the award-winning writer, whose stories have
appeared in four consecutive editions of The Best American Short
Stories, returns with a highly anticipated collection bearing her
signature mix of intelligence, wit, and heart.
A reality show producer manipulates two contestants into falling in
love, even as her own relationship falls apart. Just after the fall of
the Berlin Wall, a young boy has a revelation about his father's past
when a renowned Romanian violinist plays a concert in their home. When
the prized elephant of a traveling circus keels over dead, the
small-town minister tasked with burying its remains comes to question
his own faith. In an unnamed country, a composer records the folk songs
of two women from a village on the brink of destruction.
These transporting, deeply moving stories--some inspired by her own
family history--amply demonstrate Makkai's extraordinary range as a
storyteller, and confirm her as a master of the short story form.
"Richly imagined."
--Chicago Tribune
"Impressive."
--O, The Oprah Magazine
"Engrossing."
--Minneapolis Star-Tribune
"Inventive."
--W Magazine
