Little Nightmares, Little Dreams: Short Stories - Softcover

Simon, Rachel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1497693756 ISBN 13: 9781497693753

Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media, Inc., 2015

Synopsis

Rachel Simon’s debut, originally published in 1990, is a collection of stories about the struggle for love and intimacy, told from the point of view of adolescent girls, young mothers, and elderly women. Some are rooted in reality, others in magical realism, with tones ranging from serious to comic, sunny to dark. Throughout, Simon employs such a wide range of voices—sweet, shrewd, wistful, irascible, vulnerable, sensual—the Philadelphia Inquirer hailed her as “a literary ventriloquist.”

Among the highlights are “Little Nightmares, Little Dreams,” in which an elderly couple enters the unknown by trying to dream the same dream; “Paint,” in which a runaway-turned-artist’s-model provokes protests after her naked body becomes the canvas; “Afterglow,” in which a plucky thirteen-year-old playing hooky is held hostage by an escaped convict; “Grandma Death,” in which an overbearing grandmother can’t seem to go anywhere without someone dropping dead; and “Better Than A Box of Dreams,” in which a maid irritated by her boss’s dream therapy sessions dreams her own fondest wish back to life.

Little Nightmares, Little Dreams was presented on NPR’s Selected Shorts and the Lifetime program The Hidden Room.
This 2014 rerelease includes four previously uncollected stories. It also includes a new introduction.
 

About this title

About the Author

Rachel Simon is a New York Times bestselling author best known for the memoir Riding The Bus With My Sister (2002), adapted for a film by the same name, and the novel The Story of Beautiful Girl (2011). Little Nightmares, Little Dreams was her first book. Rachel Simon lives in Delaware.
 

Review

“Dazzling . . . Each story is more creative than the last. . . . An incredible debut.” —The Pittsburgh Press
 
“A literary ventriloquist . . . Without an agent, tiny Rachel Simon of Abington snared a big New York publisher for the debut collection of her stunning, darkly celebratory short stories. They’re unforgettable.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer
 
“Raffish and spooky stories . . . She delivers on her promise like a veteran.” —San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle
 
“Distinctive, often arresting . . .” —Publishers Weekly
 
“Rachel Simon’s stories are quick-witted, sexy, and full of heart. They grab your attention and keep it. This is a remarkable book.” —Bestselling author Charles Baxter
 
“Sweet and strong, weird and funny, Little Nightmares, Little Dreams is a very good book.” —Bestselling author Mary Gaitskill
 

About this edition

• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1497693756
• ISBN 13: 9781497693753
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 196