^^ mothers, the clairvoyant‘s best clients, needing to understand their children, needing to understand who they might have been
P227 “My idea of love was to keep the person you left from getting upset—and sending you away.”
P231 “Some part of me reminded myself that my life is not that unique, that this is why she can name my losses with such accuracy.”
P9 “Maybe the reason you shout so much, Dutch, is that you really long to whisper.”
pickLinked stories tight with buried loss & longing. Characters wandering in & out at different ages. Misbehavior & missed chances. Rainbow salmon. Float planes. Costco. Hitchhiking. Artistic ambition. No-see-ums. Tent camps. Clairvoyants. Alaska: leaving & returning. “A lobotomy‘s worth” as a unit of measurement. Killer observations. So strong, so open to a reread. Who writes like this? Alice Munro, with a hunting knife? Brutal & brilliant. 2022
so-soI always need to concentrate to get involved in a #ShortStoryCollection.They are often over before I‘ve become invested or I get impatient and start skimming to the next one. There are exceptions of course, lots fortunately, but this one isn‘t. I enjoyed the setting (Alaska) but not so much the characters or the storylines. #Booked2023
#WeeklyForecast 16/23
I am reading But You Seemed So Happy, which I bought due to recommendations by @Megabooks and @Suet624 . It‘s good and relatable.
Next will be the tagged one and I also hope to read Big Swiss. Reviews are mixed but @batsy ‘s review made me impulse-buy it anyway!
pickI enjoyed this debut collection of stories about people navigating life, their hopes & fears, family, regrets, & the natural world in Alaska which, quite frankly, is one of my favorite places to read about. As big & complex as Alaska is, so too are the people who call it home especially the sisters, daughters, & single mothers who feature prominently in a number of stories. Wise, filled with humor & heartache, wonder & hope, this was a good read.
Tonight‘s reading…
pickThis is a terrific story collection showing various lives in Alaska. Not only is each story quite good, but they all come together well as a cohesive collection, with the exception of the final story, which felt out of place to me. I otherwise enjoyed this tremendously.
pickAnyone who has watched the Discovery Channel knows Alaska is different. The terrain is less forgiving, and Newman takes these harsh conditions and uses them to bring out interpersonal truths among friends and family members. My favorite was an ambitious novella told from five points of view about two friends traveling through Canada who meet a single mom while hitchhiking. Wonderful twist at the end!
Very sorry this didn‘t make the NBA shortlist!
She knows she‘s supposed to be on the dog blanket…so she lines herself right along the edge in order to get as close to her human as possible while still following the rules.🐶
Nobody Gets Out Alive: Stories | 
