RaveThe San Francisco ChronicleTessa Hadley’s marvelous new collection, Bad Dreams and Other Stories scrutinizes difficult, messy relationships. But her 10 emotionally perceptive tales — which reveal our jealousies, desires and humiliations — are told through the lives of some fascinating women. And what muddled lives! ... Hadley demonstrates how brief, powerful relationships can forever change people. Many of these stories are set in mid-20th century England, and along the way we get a tour of English cities: Leeds, Liverpool, London. Deliciously, Hadley’s characters also practice the art of deceit, unaware how stacked lies will eventually topple over onto them. In her story worlds, keeping a secret from others means deceiving oneself in the process.
Haruki Murakami, Trans. by Philip Gabriel & Ted Goossen
RaveThe San Francisco Chronicle[Murakami] remains in top form. All the hallmarks of the Murakami universe are here: emotionally struggling characters, nods to magical and Kafkaesque realities (one character awakens as Gregor Samsa), and of course Western culture ... These stories exist in the present, yet Murakami loves highlighting the strangeness in the everyday, making a Tokyo side street or apartment seem otherworldly — like an alternate reality beside our own. This is the magic of Murakami.
Adam Johnson
RaveThe San Francisco ChronicleJohnson’s boundary-pushing stories make for exhilarating reading. He may send us across the world, but we feel close to his characters because he gives us intimate access to their inner workings. And his mastery of setting simply wowed me ... Perhaps Johnson’s most arresting story is 'Interesting Facts.' Here the narrator is a woman who’s battling cancer and married to a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. In other words, Johnson fictionalizes his own wife and gives us her view of their daily lives. This is thinly veiled fiction at its best — and its most dangerous.
