May 16, 2020
This week we are highlighting a selection of our British imports—collections of short fiction and essays from classic to contemporary writers, from Penguin Modern Classics and Faber Fiction to Persephone’s rediscovery of lost gems. Some of them are hip pocket-sized editions for short attention span reading, some are beautifully designed paperbacks for digging into writers you might not yet be familiar with. You can imagine you are browsing a charming English independent bookshop.
And, with each purchase you get a lovely Persephone bookmark, gratis. We hope you find something to strike your fancy.
Happy reading,
Melanie Fleishman
Buyer, Center for Fiction Bookstore
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There Are Little Kingdoms
By Kevin Barry
Language and style abound in these brilliant short stories from the immensely talented Irish author of Night Boat to Tangier, City of Bohane, and Beatlebone.
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Shanti
By Vikram Chandra
Set in mid 40s India, a tale of two grieving people whose stories take on the shape of The Mahabharata.
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The Lydia Steptoe Stories
By Djuna Barnes
Djuna Barnes, writing under this pseudonym, captures gender fluidity in three short stories of joy and desire.
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The Missing Girl
By Shirley Jackson
Short fiction from the master of understated horror that always manages to make you slightly uneasy in the best literary fashion.
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Daydream and Drunkenness of a Young Lady
By Clarice Lispector
Short fiction from Brazilian writer Lispector, known for her many acclaimed novels, including The Hour of the Star and The Besieged City.
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The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House
By Audre Lorde
An urgent essay collection of the ever-powerful writing of Audrey Lorde, on women, racism, homophobia, and more.
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New York City in 1979
By Kathy Acker
The cult favorite Kathy Acker’s recreation of that lost New York City underbelly of the late 70s, full of sex and drugs.
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The Garden of Forking Paths
By Jorge Luis Borges
A clever little novella that evokes quantum physics and alternative histories about a Chinese spy, written in the 40s by the legendary Argentinian writer.
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The Copenhagen Trilogy
By Tove Ditlevsen
A particular favorite of The Center for Fiction, this triptych of confessional memoirs by the tragically suicidal Danish author remains a testament to survival.
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The Ice Palace
By Tarjei Vesaas
A story of two friends forms the heart of one of the most important novels in Norwegian literature—and of 20th century literature in general, from a prize-winning author championed by Doris Lessing.
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The Making of a Marchioness
By Frances Hodgson Burnett
Turn of the century upper class England comes to life in this charming 2-part story by the author of The Secret Garden.
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Saplings
By Noel Streatfeild
A novel of a post WWII English family by the author of the classic children’s book, Ballet Shoes.
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Little Boy Lost
By Marghanita Laski
A tender story of the search for a lost child in France by a British soldier after the destruction of WWII, by the celebrated Jewish intellectual novelist and critic.
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The Second Persephone Book of Short Stories
By Various Authors
Thirty stories spanning almost a century of literature, featuring favorites from Persephone’s roster of writers including Dorothy Whipple, Canfield Fisher, all by women.
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