More Stories We Tell: The Best Contemporary Short Stories by North American Women
This follow-up to the well-received anthologyWe Are the Stories We Tell(1990) explores the lives of women in the latter half of the twentieth century. The two dozen stories gathered here are written by an interesting and powerful group of contemporary female writers. It is up to the reader to decide whether or not, collectively, these voices speak to all women in modern times, but there is no doubt that the characters in these stories make up a broad group both ethnically and socially. Writers are well known and well regarded and include Jamaica Kincaid, Margaret Atwood, Grace Paley, and Louise Erdrich. The flow from one story to another is gentle, clearly a result of thoughtful editing. Fans of the short story will find some favorites, like Ellen Gilchrist's "Light Can Be Both Wave and Particle" and Toni Cade Bambara's "The Lesson," as well as some interesting and unexpected choices, such as Gish Jen's "Who's Irish?" This is an excellent anthology, one to read and reread many times.Debi LewisCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved