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Night Sounds and Other Stories by [Karen Gettert Shoemaker]

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Karen Gettert Shoemaker

Night Sounds and Other Stories Kindle Edition

by Karen Gettert Shoemaker (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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A woman recalls the freedom and power of childhood games; a surprise anniversary party goes awry when the husband is hospitalized and the fault lines and strengths of a family are laid bare; a teacher re-discovers her calling amidst unthinkable tragedy; a lonely woman recognizes her responsibility to her sister's troubled life—in this collection of stories the prose and passion of life are brought together in ways that show both the complexity and the simplicity of living. Told against a Midwest background, they focus on women's experiences, while reflecting universal conditions. This is what makes Karen Gettert Shoemaker's style so affecting and her stories so appealing. They capture those small moments in life, a passing glance or a child's smile, the night sounds of crickets or clocks, and celebrates them, delights in their ordinariness. These stories show the importance of knowing the preciousness of this life, whatever form it takes.

Print length

160 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publication date

June 12 2012
File size

354 KB
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Product description

From Publishers Weekly

The 16 stories in this debut collection offer a comprehensive look at pivotal events in the lives of women and girls in the rural Midwest. Shoemaker is at her best writing from the perspective of a child or an adolescent, particularly in "Playing Horses," a story in which a young girl filters the difficult experiences of her youth through her love of horses, and in "Dyanna's Face Reflected in Glass," in which an adolescent girl's jealousy of her best friend backfires when she gets raped by the friend's fianc‚. The title tale offers a more poignant exploration of childhood issues, as a young girl struggles to talk her father into letting her go on a fishing trip with her older brothers. The stories with adult protagonists aren't quite as consistent, but there are still some fine moments, especially in "Crossings," in which a mother and daughter retreat to a lakeside cottage to face death together. Shoemaker's chief asset as a writer is her talent for observation and nuance, which she puts to especially good use when kids have to observe and interpret adult behavior. Though her one male narrator, who writes about his wife's death in a random shooting in "Orphans," is hollow and unconvincing, the rest of her stories are quietly accomplished. If they sometimes feel mannered, they are also crafted with care and grace. This book establishes Shoemaker as a talented chronicler of rural life and domestic gestures, with an eye for what's funny in grief, and what's sad in humor.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From Library Journal

Short stories at their finest can be the ultimate in fiction: compressed gems that in few words can create memorable people and emotions out of thin air. Shoemaker's first collection contains such stories, and readers will laugh and cry at her spare portrayals of loss and friendship. Many, like the title story, in which a girl wants to be included in an early morning fishing trip with her father and brothers, evoke painful childhood emotions that resonate throughout adult life. Long-lost childhood friendships that change with time ("Playing Horses") and relationships between sisters ("Back Seat"), and between mother and child ("Crossings" and "Seams") are presented in clear detail. A few knock-off stories of a couple of pages are also included, but overall this is a powerful and valuable collection.
Ann H. Fisher, Radford P.L., VA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B008B9VXYO
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dufour Editions (June 12 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 354 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 160 pages

Customer Reviews:
5.0 3 ratings

About the authors

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Karen Gettert Shoemaker
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Customer reviews

5 out of 5

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Top review from Canada

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Mark Zieg

quiet elegance

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on November 5, 2002

Karen Shoemaker's debut collection of stories is beautiful, elegant and heartbreaking. So much fiction I read today relies too much on sensationlism, but not Shoemaker. Her stories are quiet triumphs, and I can return to this book again and again. Though her stories are set in the midwest, I find her topics and scope reaches across the country. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has appreciated the work of Marly Swick, Ann Beattie, Anne Tyler, and more. Enjoy!

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Top reviews from other countries

the reader

SOUNDS OF NIGHT AND ALL OTHER TIMES

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 1, 2020

Verified Purchase

I ordered the book because I liked Ms Shoemaker's "The Meaning of Names." I wondered if her short stories would be as good as her award winning book. They were. The book contains sixteen stories pertaining to life and death, family relationships, so much looking deep into the heart and souls of what it is to be human, to belong to the world. Some young people growing up too young, marrying too young before they know who they really are. Mothers worrying about their children, how they will cope with life. Mr Shoemaker writes about parts of life that people won't think about, won't talk about, but she does. Parents and children, mothers and fathers, single parents especially single mothers. People dying too young, friends mourning and remembering, people waiting to die. Characters remembering back to when they were kids. Good short stories going over an entire gamut of feelings and lives. Good book, but I found the last story "Glossolalia" different and strange. Good writing, it gives me much to think about, but sad and true to life.

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Follow the Authors

Night Sounds and Other Stories Kindle Edition

Product description

From Publishers Weekly

From Library Journal

About the Author

Product details

About the authors

Karen Gettert Shoemaker

Karen Gettert Shoemaker

Customer reviews

Top review from Canada

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Top reviews from other countries