Venus in the Afternoon (Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction)
Lieberman’s collection won the 2012 Katherine Anne Porter Prize in short fiction and, like the work of the award’s namesake, Venus in the Afternoon deals with the dark themes of loss and death. A young widow struggles to raise her infant son; a father yearns for a relationship with his estranged daughter; a husband succumbs to grief over his dying wife. Like all the best short story writers, Lieberman has a gift for immediately drawing readers into the narrative and then bringing each tale to a satisfying, if frequently ambiguous, conclusion. Her endings actually feel like whispered hopes or sighs. Setting is all but irrelevant in these character-driven pieces, which lends the stories greater universality and emotional power. Ultimately, the thread holding these exquisitely crafted, self-contained dramas together is a similarity of tone—mournful, with just enough light to rescue the book from utter gloom. There is love here and a sense of happiness that was or may yet be as Lieberman reminds us that sadness and joy are often inextricably entwined. --Patty Wetli