Victoria Redel Book order

Redel's prose is artful and insightful ... this is a hugely moving celebration of love, life and friendship. Eithne Farry S Magazine

In eleven original, surprising and deliciously dark stories, Victoria Redel moves effortlessly between men's and women's perspectives in stories that explore marriage, divorce and parenthood. A newly divorced mother stumbles her way back into single life. A young man and his girlfriend clean out his dead mother's overstuffed home. A woman struggles to hide her affair from a doting husband and inquisitive daughter. A man descends into a drug-fueled dream as he imagines losing his pregnant wife to a historical, nineteenth century figure. Redel indelibly captures the ways we love, the ways we yearn and the ways we sabotage each. Throughout the collection, children struggle to make sense of the adult world's uncertainties as husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, find themselves pressed up against their own limits, "the exaltations and treasons of one's own mothy heart." Redel has again done what Grace Paley said of Redel's first collection, "Only a poet could have written this prose. Only a storyteller could keep a reader turning these pages so greedily."

This poetry collection from the author of Lover Boy explores the themes of love and the richness of a life fully experienced. With a blend of heartfelt verses, it reflects on personal journeys and emotional connections, showcasing the depth and complexity of human relationships. The collection promises to resonate with readers through its poignant insights and lyrical beauty.

The narrative explores the journey of Sara Leader, a single professor who, while preparing to adopt a child, delves into her father's hidden past as a Holocaust refugee. This discovery prompts a deeper understanding of how his experiences have influenced her own life. The story alternates between the vibrant letters of a teenage boy to Eleanor Roosevelt and Sara's reflections on her father's traumatic history. Victoria Redel skillfully weaves themes of bravery, resilience, and the complexity of familial bonds, highlighting the interplay of humor and pain in the characters' lives.