WHERE THE LIGHT FALLS SELECTED STORIES OF NANCY HALE
EDITED BY LAUREN GROFF
LIBRARY OF AMERICA
PUB DATE: OCT 1 2019
SYNOPSIS:
A teenage girl in Connecticut driven to near delirium over her burgeoning sexuality. A twenty-something New Yorker transplanted to a small Virginia community who boldly befriends the town pariah. A New England widow in search of alcohol and excitement while babysitting her grandson. A Maryland socialite who has built a secret bomb shelter that becomes the center of her imaginative life.
These are some of the characters who inhabit Nancy Hale’s lush fiction. Haunting, vivid, and wonderfully subversive, Hale’s stories typically concern women recognizable to all of us—sometimes fragile, possibly wicked, deceptively ordinary, navigating their way uncertainly through life.
Nancy Hale was one of the most accomplished short story artists of her era, winner of ten O. Henry Awards and a frequent contributor to The New Yorker from the 1930s to the 1960s. But by the time of her death in 1988, this remarkable writer, so far ahead of her time in her depiction of complex women, was largely forgotten. Now Lauren Groff reintroduces this modern master with a selection of twenty-five of her best stories— brilliant short fiction that encompasses childhood and adolescence, marriage and motherhood, desire and infidelity, madness and memory.
Where the Light Falls reveals Hale as a gifted stylist—a painter in light and shadow—and an acute observer of modern American life.
REVIEW/THOUGHTS:
This is an amazing collection of short stories by Nancy Hale written during a time long forgotten, that needs to be reintroduced to this new generation of readers. This was exceptionally edited and compiled by Lauren Groff who also writes a beautiful introduction and bio.
Groff’s introduction on Hale gives readers a better perspective of that era and what to expect of the world and culture of that time. Hale’s stories were written between the 1930s to 1960's, when most writers of that era wrote of the "heroic or well-off white man", and Hale insists on writing about the importance of the lives of ordinary woman and children.
Hale's writing will stay with you long after you have read it and will impact you in some way or another. Though the book is an easy read, I intentionally savored it for a few days reading the stories and enjoying them one at a time as if savoring a delicious rare treat. Hale's prose is elegant and her topics are brave speaking of abortion, racism, fascism - some of the issues at that time which is relevant to our world now. I am very excited to have been introduced to such an exceptional writer that without this book, her voice would not have been heard by many today.
I highly recommend this book for an amazing collection of masterful writing that is a must read for anyone calling themselves a contemporary avid reader.
*of note "Proceeds from the sale of this book will be used to support the mission of Library of America, a non profit organization that champions the nation's cultural heritage by publishing America's greatest writing in authoritative new editions and providing resources for readers to explore this rich, living legacy".
Groff’s introduction on Hale gives readers a better perspective of that era and what to expect of the world and culture of that time. Hale’s stories were written between the 1930s to 1960's, when most writers of that era wrote of the "heroic or well-off white man", and Hale insists on writing about the importance of the lives of ordinary woman and children.
Hale's writing will stay with you long after you have read it and will impact you in some way or another. Though the book is an easy read, I intentionally savored it for a few days reading the stories and enjoying them one at a time as if savoring a delicious rare treat. Hale's prose is elegant and her topics are brave speaking of abortion, racism, fascism - some of the issues at that time which is relevant to our world now. I am very excited to have been introduced to such an exceptional writer that without this book, her voice would not have been heard by many today.
I highly recommend this book for an amazing collection of masterful writing that is a must read for anyone calling themselves a contemporary avid reader.
*of note "Proceeds from the sale of this book will be used to support the mission of Library of America, a non profit organization that champions the nation's cultural heritage by publishing America's greatest writing in authoritative new editions and providing resources for readers to explore this rich, living legacy".
AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT:
Lauren Groff is the New York Times bestselling author of three novels, The Monsters of Templeton, Arcadia, and Fates and Furies, and the short story collection Delicate Edible Birds. She has been a finalist for the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Kirkus Prize, and the LA Times Book Prize. Her work has been featured in The New Yorker, along with five Best American Short Stories anthologies, and she was named one of Granta's 2017 Best Young American Novelists. Her next book, a collection of short stories called Florida, will be published in June 2018. Lauren lives in Gainesville, Florida, with her husband and sons.
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