Small Odysseys: Selected Shorts Presents 35 New Stories

by Hannah Tinti (Editor), Neil Gaiman (Foreword by)

Overview

“Lovers of the short story, rejoice! There’s something for everyone in this anniversary collection . . . The collection makes the argument that time and again, it is stories that save us.” —Booklist 

Thirty-five literary luminaries come together in this stunning collection of all-new works.

A must-have for any lover of literature, Small Odysseys sweeps the reader into the landscape of the contemporary short story, featuring never-before-published works by many of our most preeminent authors as well as up-and-coming superstars.

On their journey through the book, readers will encounter long-ago movie stars, a town full of dandelions, and math lessons from Siri. They will attend karaoke night, hear a twenty-something slacker’s breathless report of his failed recruiting by the FBI, and travel with a father and son as they channel grief into running a neighborhood bakery truck. They will watch the Greek goddess Persephone encounter the end of the world, and witness another apocalypse through a series of advertisements for a touchless bidet. And finally, they will meet an aging loner who finds courage and resilience hidden in the most unexpected of places—the next generation.

Published in partnership with beloved literary radio program and live show Selected Shorts in honor of its thirty-fifth anniversary, this collection of thirty-five stories captures its spirit in print for the first time.

FEATURING
Rabih Alameddine * Jenny Allen * Lesley Nneka Arimah * Aimee Bender * Marie-Helene Bertino * Jai Chakrabarti * Patrick Cottrell * Elizabeth Crane * Michael Cunningham * Patrick Dacey * Edwidge Danticat * Dave Eggers * Omar El Akkad * Lauren Groff * Jacob Guajardo * A.M. Homes * Mira Jacob * Jac Jemc * Etgar Keret * Lisa Ko * Victor LaValle * J. Robert Lennon * Ben Loory * Carmen Maria Machado * Juan Martinez * Maile Meloy * Joe Meno * Susan Perabo * Helen Phillips * Namwali Serpell * Rivers Solomon * Elizabeth Strout * Luis Alberto Urrea * Jess Walter * Weike Wang

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643751993
Publisher:	Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Publication date:	03/15/2022
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	486,650
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Hannah Tinti is the author of the bestselling novel The Good Thief, which won rhe Center for Fiction’s first novel prize, and the story collection Animal Crackers, a runner-up for the PEN/Hemingway Award. Her latest novel, The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley, is a national bestseller and has been optioned for television. She teaches creative writing at New York University’s MFA program and co-founded the Sirenland Writers Conference. Tinti is also the co-founder and executive editor of One Story magazine, which won the AWP Small Press Publisher Award, CLMP’s Firecracker Award, and the PEN/Magid Award for Excellence in Editing.
 

Table of Contents

Foreword Neil Gaiman ix

Introduction Hannah Tinti xv

Departures

The King of Bread Luis Alberto Urrea 3

Goodbye to the Road Not Taken A. M. Homes 20

The Double Life of the Cockroach's Wife Helen Phillips 35

Cane and Roses: A Manifesto Edwidge Danticat 42

Persephone Rides at the End of Days Carmen Maria Machado 50

Unicorn Me Elizabeth Crane 59

Lessons with Father Jai Chakrabarti 65

iPhone SE Weike Wang 70

The Hole Patrick Cottrell 79

Noseless Nam Wali Serpell 84

Infidelity Jac Jemc 90

Death by Printer Mira Jacob 97

Journeys

Options Lesley Nneka Arimah 107

Sleepless Michael Cunningham 111

A Survey of Recent American Happenings Told Through Six Commercials for the Tennyson Clearjet Premium Touchless Bidet Omar El Akkad 119

Un-Selfie Aimee Bender 124

Home Elizabeth Strout 134

Love Interest Jess Walter 149

Escape Pod W41 J. Robert Lennon 161

Conquistadors, on Fairchild Jacob Guajardo 169

The Project Susan Perabo 174

Period Piece Maile Meloy 181

Books You Read Joe Meno 196

A Woman Driving Alone Marie-Helene Bertino 203

New Worlds

Dandelions Ben Loory 211

All That's Gone Is All That's Left Patrick Dacey 219

Scaffolding Man Jenny Allen 226

A Brief Note on the Translation of Winter Women, Written by the Collective Dead, Translated by Amal Ruth Rivers Solomon 231

Nightlife Lisa Ko 236

Cerati After Cerati Juan Martinez 241

The Prom Terrorists Rabih Alameddine 247

Bedtime Story Victor LaValle 253

Such Small Islands Lauren Groff 257

Almost Everything Etgar Keret 267

Where the Candles Are Kept Dave Eggers 275

About the Authors 300

About Selected Shorts 312

About Symphony Space 313

Acknowledgments 314

Editorial Reviews

01/17/2022

Tinti (The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley) delivers a dynamic anthology drawn from the Selected Shorts public radio program. “Sleepless” by Michael Cunningham explores the lives of the narrator and his lover as they rent a ramshackle waterfront house for a few days with their ailing dog and a friend they “rescued” from her minimum wage job. In “Bedtime Story” by Victor LaValle, the narrator camps with his eight-year-old son, Kai, in the hallway of their nearly empty New York City apartment building during Covid-19 (“We were utterly unguarded. It felt like lying flat on a raft in the middle of the sea”). Lauren Groff’s “Such Small Islands” follows the evolving relationship between young, sickly Aura and her older half-sister, Gus, who travels to care for her on a fancy vacation island. The bittersweet “Almost Everything,” by Etgar Keret perfectly captures the fleeting triumph a man feels as his wife cherishes his 49 gifts from around the world for her 49th birthday—before a friend reminds him of the looming milestone next year and questions what can be done to surpass this effort. Tinti cleverly arranges the stories into “Departures,” “Journeys,” and “New Worlds,” and most hit their marks. Short story fans will enjoy the abundance of talent on offer. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Lovers of the short story, rejoice! There’s something for everyone in this anniversary collection . . . Author notes following each story add depth and understanding to these equally delightful and devastating literary ‘snacks’ . . . Overall, the collection makes the argument that time and again, it is stories that save us.”
—Booklist 

“In her introduction, editor Hannah Tinti recalls the magic of listening to Selected Shorts on the radio in her early twenties . . . With Small Odysseys, she affords readers similar access to the transcendency of a story well-told.”
—Poets Writers

“Tinti delivers a dynamic anthology drawn from the Selected Shorts public radio program . . . Short story fans will enjoy the abundance of talent on offer.”
—Publishers Weekly 

“A wide-ranging anthology of original stories from some of today's top authors . . . Well-curated, eclectic, and thoughtful.”
—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2022-03-02
A wide-ranging anthology of original stories from some of today's top authors.

If you’re a public radio stan and lover of fiction, you’ve likely heard of “Selected Shorts,” the program that features actors performing readings of a variety of short stories. Among the fans of the show is novelist Tinti, who edits this anthology sponsored by the program. The 35 original stories here are divided into three sections—“Departures,” “Journeys,” and “New Worlds”—and each has its share of delights. The first section starts off with Luis Alberto Urrea’s wonderful “The King of Bread,” about a fourth grade boy coping with the loss of his mother, who’s been forced by immigration authorities to leave the U.S. He navigates his relationship with his father, whose demeanor is “jolly rage,” with trepidation and care; both miss their family member but react to her leaving very differently. It’s a lovely, understated story and an excellent introduction to the anthology. The highlight of the second section is Omar El Akkad’s “A Survey of Recent American Happenings Told Through Six Commercials for the Tennyson ClearJet Premium Touchless Bidet,” a hilarious take on capitalism in the age of constant disaster. (“Tennyson Bidets: Life is but a grotesque carnival of unbearable pain,” ends one such commercial.) Addressing the Covid-19 pandemic directly is Victor LaValle in “Bedtime Story,” which sees a father and son in New York adjusting to life under quarantine. “The city that never sleeps,” the father reflects ruefully. “Well, that’s officially bullshit now.” The 8-year-old boy is suffering from depression and misses his mom, who’s left temporarily to take care of her own sick mother. The child insists his dad take him “camping”—in the hallway of their apartment building. The story ends on a hopeful note; like all of LaValle’s work, it’s beautiful and surprising. Anthologies like this are hard to pull off; not every story is going to land with every reader. But Tinti does a good job curating this one—thematically, it makes sense; the lineup is diverse; and it serves as a good introduction for readers looking for their next favorite fiction writer.

Well-curated, eclectic, and thoughtful.

Kirkus Reviews