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Not a Thing to Comfort You (Iowa Short Fiction Award) Kindle Edition

by Emily Wortman-Wunder (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

7

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From a lightning death on an isolated peak to the intrigues of a small town orchestra, the glimmering stories in this debut collection explore how nature—damaged, fierce, and unpredictable—worms its way into our lives. Here moths steal babies, a creek seduces a lonely suburban mother, and the priorities of a passionate conservationist are thrown into confusion after the death of her son. Over and over, the natural world reveals itself to be unknowable, especially to the people who study it most. These tales of scientists, nurses, and firefighters catalog the loneliness within families, betrayals between friends, and the recurring song of regret and grief.

Print length

148 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

University Of Iowa Press
Publication date

October 15, 2019
File size

712 KB
Page Flip

Enabled
Word Wise

Enabled
Enhanced typesetting

Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“There’s a sleight-of-hand magic in Not a Thing to Comfort You. Emily Wortman-Wunder's characters are palpable and complex, and her psychological insights rival the likes of Jonathan Franzen and Jane Smiley. Yet she accomplishes this in a few pages of story, rather than a novel. Don’t come to this book seeking sentimentality or tired tropes. Wortman-Wunder’s voice and her sensibility are fresh, sometimes alarming, and always deeply satisfying.”—BK Loren, author, Theft: A Novel
-- BK Loren

About the Author

Emily Wortman-Wunder has been published in the Kenyon Review, Vela, Nimrod, High Country News, and elsewhere. She lives in Denver, Colorado, and teaches scientific writing at the University of Colorado.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07XKLSCVR
Publisher ‏ : ‎ University Of Iowa Press; 1st edition (October 15, 2019)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 15, 2019
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 712 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 ‏ : ‎ 148 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1609386817

Best Sellers Rank: #3,328,845 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #46,346 in Single Authors Short Stories
- #89,135 in Short Stories (Books)
- #90,827 in American Literature (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
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D805

Wonderful clean writing. Beautiful stories.

Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2020

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Award winning book with lovely, clear prose, images and stories.

Helpful

Blaire

Fantastic collection at the intersection of nature and modern life

Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2020

Ooh, what a collection. I didn't want to put this book down. Every story blew me away in a new and unexpected way. Although nature weaves through every story, it is the care and sympathy with which the author treats every character that really does it. I would love to read a novel from Emily Wortman-Wunder. Every time a story ended, I wished I could follow up with the characters again, who felt like close- if troubled- friends. My favorite stories were "Tresspassing", "Not a Thing to Comfort You" and "Bad". This has reinvigorated my love for short stories. So much packed into so little space.

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Martin Margulies

Short stories that read like novels

Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2020

I have always known that Emily was a writer and was able to purchase a signed copy at one of her releases in Denver. The stories that she has written are very poignant and elaborate. Almost every story could be developed further into novels of their own standing. Her characters are very well thought out and the stories grip you leaving you wanting more. I hope that she will take one or more of the stories and turn them into novels. Very gripping and entertaining. Thank you.

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Julie Vick

Funny and inventive stories

Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2021

A collection of funny and inventive stories that had interesting insights into the characters and the natural world.