Awesome Literary Collections of 2009

This last year was rife with beautifully written short story collections, perfect for the adult reader that longs for something literary. Here are a few of my favorites, in no particular order:

The Thing Around Your Neck, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

These stories detail the Nigerian woman’s experience, whether she is living, somewhat forlornly and guiltily, in North America, or dealing with change and suffering in the country of her origin. One of my favorite reads this last year.

Pieces for the Left Hand, by J. Robert Lennon

Lennon’s quixotic collection finally found a home here in the United States, this time at the impressive independent, Graywolf Press (Pieces was previously only published in the U.K.). These stories – normally no longer than a page each – are beautiful, menacing and crushingly intelligent. The writing, line by line, is expertly wrought. Fans of his might also enjoy his novel, Castle, which also came out in 2009.

Nothing Right, by Antonya Nelson

Nelson’s stories frequent such venerable magazines as The New Yorker, and for good reason. The relationships in this collection are convoluted – painful but loving – such as in “Party of One”, where a woman, Emily, seeks to protect her sister from a painful breakup, despite knowing that her sister previously slept with Emily’s own husband. Nelson manages to write realism without sacrificing hilarity and interest. A great read for anyone who might be fans of Lorrie Moore or Alice Munro.

Reasons for and Advantages of Breathing: Stories, by Lydia Peele

Peelle writes most of these stories from a masculine perspective, something I would normally find disingenuous, but she does so masterfully, and the result is a collection that is as sharp and addictive as Richard Ford's Rock Springs. Having never been to the south, I kept interchanging the scenery with that of the Northwest -- so much of the collection is fixated on the outdoors, on the strange flightly disconnect between man and nature, and for one story in particular, revolving around a ghostlike mountain lion, I perfectly envisioned the forests of Northern Idaho. Barely any moments exist indoors -- and yet the stories are still so internal to the characters. Fantastic.

Too Much Happiness, by Alice Munro

Munro is a master storyteller, arguably the best living writer in North America. These stories begin with the domestic and arc into sheer drama. In the first story, a bereft woman reconnects with the mentally-disturbed husband that murdered their children. In another, a college student is urged by her roommate to dine with the roommate’s estranged wealthy lover, resulting in a bizarrely refined evening of humiliation. What I love about Munro is her ability to carve such universal human emotions into her characters – despite the strange circumstances – making them seem so alive. Reading her work – which is ultimately so compassionate, so generous – is always cathartic, always life-changing – exactly what great literature should be.

There Once Was a Woman Who Tried to Kill her Neighbor’s Baby: Fairy Tales, by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya

This renowned Russian writer serves up a collection as dark and eyebrow-raising as its title suggests. I ordered this book after reading "Hygiene" in Harper’s Magazine, a story in which a plague descends upon a village and a family gruesomely turns against one another to avoid getting sick. The stories are not necessarily deep or moving, but they are speedy, comic and creepy. Of course, this is not a collection for the weak-hearted. Macomber fans would not be pleased, but Stephen King fans might be…

Where the Money Went, by Kevin Canty

If you’ve got a manly literary type roaming the stacks – especially someone who enjoys James Crumley, Jim Harrison, Richard Hugo or any of the fly-fishing, Montana-outdoorsy set – tell them about Kevin Canty. His novels are great, but where he really masters his craft are his short stories. Also, I’m a sucker for any book with a mermaid on the cover.

Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It, by Maile Meloy

To put it alliteratively, Meloy’s writing is melodic. In clean, serene sentences, she unfolds the petals of her characters’ desires. A young girl longs to grow up, almost managing to do so in one evening with a lusty business associate of her father’s. A lonely rancher’s desire for a law student leads to a frantic drive across wintry Montana. With stories this diverse and moving, it’s no wonder that Meloy’s collection was selected as one of the Top 10 Books of 2010 by The New York Times. For music fans, you might be interested to know that her brother, Colin, founded the band The Decemberists.

Happy reading!