Calamity and Other Stories - Hardcover

Kalotay, Daphne

3.63

132 ratings by Goodreads

9780385513586: Calamity and Other Stories

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385513585 ISBN 13: 9780385513586

Publisher: Doubleday, 2005

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Twelve stories introducing a remarkable new writer...

In Calamity and Other Stories, Daphne Kalotay portrays with affection and frankness the complexity and comedy of human relationships. From a newly independent woman finding herself in bed with her husband of long ago to a thirteen-year-old boy irked by his friendship with a younger girl, Kalotay’s characters step poignantly into and out of each other’s worlds, at times frustrated by regrets and unrealized hopes and at other times embracing life’s small joys and absurdities.

Every Monday the man in Sunshine Cleaners awaits the one customer who acknowledges his existence, though all she offers are complaints. A little girl gets a surprising glimpse of adulthood when she catches her mother in a moment of uninhibited pleasure. And for two older women, a tie formed long ago sustains them through defining twists of fate. In each of these luminous stories, Kalotay lays bare a profound truth about the secrets of the heart.

Exquisitely crafted, moving, and funny, Calamity and Other Stories showcases a writer finding wonder in ordinary lives.

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From the Inside Flap:

In CALAMITY AND OTHER STORIES, Daphne Kalotay portrays with affection and forthrightness the comedy and complexity of human relationships. Characters introduced in one story reappear in others, at times frustrated by regrets and unrealized hopes, and at others embracing the small joys and odd epiphanies life offers.
Just when she is feeling stronger, happier, and more independent than ever, a woman encounters her ex-husband and ends up in bed with him. A little girl gets an unsettling yet exhilarating glimpse of adulthood when she catches her mother in a moment of uninhibited pleasure. For a thirteen-year-old boy, his father’s giddy new romance and his mother’s decline into depression subtly alter his interactions with girls his age. And for two older women, a tie formed long ago sustains them through the difficult twists of fate that shape their very different lives. In each of these spare and deftly crafted stories, Kalotay lays bare a profound truth about the secrets of the heart.
With this stunning debut, Kalotay follows in the footsteps of other writers–including Ethan Canin, ZZ Packer, Adam Haslett, and Jhumpa Lahiri–who burst upon the literary scene with story collections lauded by critics and eagerly snatched up by readers. Beautifully written, moving, and funny, CALAMITY AND OTHER STORIES showcases a writer poised to become our next literary star.

About the Author:

DAPHNE KALOTAY lives and writes in Brookline, Massachusetts.

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