Named a must-read by the""Chicago Tribune"," " O "Magazine, ""BuzzFeed"," ""The Huffington Post"," ""Minneapolis Star-Tribune"," and"The L Magazine
"Named one of the best short story collections of 2015 by "Bookpage "and "Kansas City Star"
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

"From the Hardcover edition.""