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| The Physics of Imaginary Objects
ISBN: 9780822991137
Platform/Publisher: JSTOR / University of Pittsburgh Press
Digital rights: Users: unlimited; Printing: chapter; Download: chapter
Subjects: Language & Literature;
This enigmatic collection by Hall comprises curious musings on the convergence of the natural and human worlds. In "Visitations," dead squirrels are trapped in the wall of a pregnant woman's kitchen while the father of her baby is away. The smell of decay leads to paranoia and the suspicion that the father has cursed the house. "Skinny Girls' Constitution and Bylaws" is a humorously chilling list of girls whose "knees are castanets," who "chant Plath at school assemblies," and whose "job is to fasten ties around men's necks." "All the Day's Sad Stories," a novella, is about a superstitious married couple, Mercy and Jake, trying to conceive despite omens such as Jake's cookie lacking a fortune. Many of these selections, such as "By the Gleam of Her Teeth, She Will Light the Path Before Her," have quirky titles that deliver atmospheric and dreamlike stories sure to fascinate. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Tina May Hall is assistant professor of English at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. Her stories have appeared in 3rd Bed, Black Warrior Review, Quarterly West, minnesota review, descant, the Collagist, and Water-Stone Review, among others. She is the author of the chapbook All the Day's Sad Stories. |
