Safe Places: Stories - Juniper Prize for Fiction | Award-Winning Literary Fiction for Book Lovers & Reading Enthusiasts | Perfect for Book Clubs & Relaxing Evenings

I'm a college professor of fiction writing and literature for graduate students; I am a prolific reader; I read everything from mysteries to philosophy to literary novels to short story collections. I'm always on the lookout for a short story collection that my students will enjoy--and learn from. Rarely do I read a short story collection straight through--but this collection I did. Why? These voice-driven stories are complete in and of themselves--there's a sadness centered around the loneliness of the human condition--but these stories are not sad. A subtle humor scuttles alongside the characters and their take on the world that made me laugh out loud. I wanted to stay with these characters. Unique characters and unique situations. I'm so grateful that I saw the write up about this book in the magazine Poets and Writers.I loved that the writer showed off terrific technique without drawing attention to it--in otherwords, I never felt the author intruding to show off her literary skills--as a teacher and as a writer myself, I know how hard that is to achieve. Sometimes, when I'm reading a book or story, there's a word or phrase that's too "trying", and I can feel it--literally, I'm taken right out of the story. That doesn't happen in these stories.Each character compelled me to keep reading--this was beautiful prose combined with strong story telling.The stories also showed off how form can reflect theme and characterization. A pleasure to read--and I look forward to having students explore this terrific story collection.I want to emphasize again the humor in these stories--there's an ironic undertone that makes for stories that on the surface may appear sad--but they're not. Let yourself feel the subtle humor. The story "Safe Places" is one of the funniest stories I've read in a long time--and we all could use a good laugh right now.I recommend that you run out and buy this book! It's such an incredible display of seamless literary techniques, and each story is a story that you don't want to put down--the writing and the characters and their stories will keep you reading! And as a teacher of fiction, I know my students will see the art involved in setting up a story, pacing it, providing just the right details, in showing how form can reflect theme, etc.I cannot wait to read Kerry Dolan's next book--