The Animal Girl: Two Novellas and Three Stories (Yellow Shoe Fiction)
Award-winning Fulton's newest collection of stories explores love in times of death when it is, perhaps, most potent of all. After the cancer she thought was cured returns, Kate, a middle-aged divorcée, turns to the classifieds, hoping for one last chance to connect with someone as her daughter grows ever more distant. In the wake of her mother's death, Leah takes on a ghoulish job delivering research animals to their certain ends, and copes with the trauma of both experiences by lashing out at her father's new girlfriend and at her scientist boss. Martin and Nina watch the demise of their relationship during a vacation in Italy even as Nina's body swells with new life. And in Fulton's testament to the redeeming power of love, Evelyn meets Russell, whose wife has been in a coma for years following a horrific car accident. Together, the two learn to love and trust again even in the midst of tragedy. In their exploration of loss, Fulton's moving vignettes offer glimpses into all that is painful and hopeful and human. Boyle, Katherine