American Housewife (2016), a collection of short stories by Helen Ellis, is the Literary Wives bloggers' pick for this month. It is witty, poignant, hilarious, dark, timely, and accessible. Please see more of the Literary Wives discussion at the following blogs. Naomi of Consumed by Ink Kay of What Me Read Lynn of Smoke & Mirrors Ariel of One... Continue Reading →
“My dad’s not gay! You’re a liar!” I had never spoken to anybody with such violence, but I did so now to Jenny, a childhood friend. We were settled in her bedroom, and the emptiness of the newly painted room echoed the grief that rang out in my voice. The walls seemed to be closing... Continue Reading →
Penelope Fitzgerald (1916-2000), a woman who did not start writing until after her sixtieth birthday in the 1970s, was not what scholars would consider a traditional modernist. She did not write during modernism’s height, did not help to create the significant change of that era, and did not fraternize with other modernists. However, she did... Continue Reading →
I first encountered the short story collection A Simplified Map of the Real World (2013) by Stevan Allred when I got an email from the editor. She is Laura Stanfill, whom I’ve met through blogging and whom I would call friend. When she got to the story that names the collection, she immediately thought of... Continue Reading →
Warning: This post explores the literary term “bitch goddess,” and I therefore use that word frequently. I understand that this is offensive and upsetting to some people, so please don’t take it personally and please don’t read this post if strong language offends you. Female characters in Hemingway’s work are often called “bitch goddesses,” who... Continue Reading →
I first read Maile Meloy's work through a short story in an anthology I had purchased during my Master’s program. I took my oldest daughter to the park at that time (she was younger and my only one), and I sat on a picnic blanket and read while she played. It was a warm spring... Continue Reading →
My Internet has been down for two days. Two days! It seemed like we would die. I could only check email on my phone (which is new, and I barely know how to use it), we had nothing to watch in the evenings because we watch everything on Netflix, and I couldn’t check flights or... Continue Reading →
The Bookshelf of Emily J. 