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Published Feb 2009
224 pages
Genre: Short Stories
Publication Information
The Giller Prize-nominated Home Schooling marks the American debut of a masterful, award-winning storyteller. Set against the moody landscape of Vancouver Island and the thrumming cities of the Pacific Northwest, Carol Windley's stories uncover the hidden freight of families: in the title story, two sisters contend with their idealistic father’s sudden inability to provide for their family, and with their attraction to the same boy; in “What Saffi Knows,” a mother returns to a moment in her past when she held the knowledge that might have saved another child, but not the language with which to convey it; and in “Family in Black,” a young woman’s world is permanently changed when her mother abandons her father for a man who embodies everything her mother taught her to despise. Families dissolve and reform in new, startling configurations: ghosts appear, the past intrudes and overwhelms the present, familiar terrain takes on a hostile aspect, and happiness depends on unlikely alliances.
With the invisibly perfect craftsmanship of Alice Munro, and the flesh-and-blood sense of place of Annie Proulx, Windley carves out territory all her own in these stories, each one a richly imagined world that will stay with readers for a long time.
"Windley keeps readers' attention with a fast pace and an eye for fresh details that make her efficient, achingly human dramas absorbing and sympathetic." - Publishers Weekly.
"Reading Windley can be a mesmerizing experience; recommended for public and academic libraries." - Library Journal.
"This slim volume gives every indication that [comparisons to Alice Munro] are warranted. Beautifully crafted and devoid of sentimentality." - Kirkus Reviews.
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