I Knew You'd Be Lovely [Paperback]

Alethea Black (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 5, 2011

Alethea Black's deeply moving and wholly original debut features a coterie of memorable characters who have reached emotional crossroads in their lives. Brimming with humor, irony, and insights about the unpredictable nature of life, the unbearable beauty of fate, and the power that one moment, or one decision, can have to transform us, I Knew You'd Be Lovely delivers that rare thing—stories with both an edge and a heart.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“[A] sly and emotionally complex debut collection…[Black’s] unflinching candor allows her to mine extraordinary revelations.” –Boston Globe

“Alethea Black's characters are witty […] without turning caustic, and remain mostly cheerful about their uncertain futures—just the kind of people with whom we want to connect.” — Corrie Pikul, Oprah.com

“This debut reads like a dream, with nary a false note…a well-balanced collection filled with low-key charm and notable talent.” – Kirkus Reviews
 
“A sense of vulnerable restlessness is betrayed by the otherwise pragmatic characters of Black’s strong debut collection.” – Publishers Weekly

“I Knew You’d Be Lovely is an impressive offering, from a strong new voice, of stories about life’s desperation.” – Joseph Arellano, New York Journal of Books

“Alethea Black is downright brilliant at capturing the restless striving for a self that we all are feeling in this parlous and unsettling age. I Knew You’d Be Lovely is a splendidly resonant debut by an important young writer.” – Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer Prize winning author of A Good Scent From a Strange Mountain
 
“ With humor, honesty and wary hope, Alethea Black’s stories capture the pain and power of loving fully—and celebrate life’s small astonishments amid our shared human search for the divine.  I KNEW YOU’D BE LOVELY is thoughtful, entertaining and, ultimately, powerful.” – Daphne Kalotay, author of Russian Winter
 
"When I came to the end I wanted to read the next page - or write it, but then I realized that there was no more to be said; as in the Navajo prayer, 'In beauty it is finished.'"--N. Scott Momaday, Pulitzer Prize winning author of House Made of Dawn
 
“Alethea Black writes with a deceptively light touch, yet her work packs a serious punch...There’s a spiritual hunger in her stories reminiscent of Flannery O’Connor, combined with a voice that is all her own.” – Sharon Pomerantz, author of Rich Boy
 
“Reading Alethea Black’s seemingly effortless prose is like slipping into water – the eerily clear kind, that shows you more than you may want to see.” – Glen Hirshberg, winner of the 2008 Shirley Jackson Award 
 
“Alethea Black can drop you into a dream with a single sentence, then convince you it’s real. Her characters’ best hopes and worst fears usually come to pass, often in fabulous ways, but their adventures feel inevitable and true—not only because Ms. Black richly imagines her people, but because she loves them. I Knew You’d Be Lovely is a lovely debut, with masterful prose and inspired invention on every page.”
—Ralph Lombreglia, author of Men Under Water
 
"There's a touch of Lorrie Moore in Alethea Black's stories, but the voice is all her own.  Black writes about love, yes, but she also writes about solitude--its travails and its pleasures--with a winning combination of insight and charm.  I Knew You'd Be Lovely is a terrific debut." – Joshua Henkin, author of Matrimony

“Black’s is a rich, accomplished and startlingly good literary presence…the 13 stories collected here are well-crafted and engaging. Black’s observations on life, love and the human condition are keen and welcome.” –Monica Stark, januarymagazine.blogspot.com 

“The title of Black’s collection reflects the optimism buoying these 13 stories…[Black’s] nimble wit carries her through.” – Vikas Turakhia, Cleveland Plain Dealer



 

About the Author

Alethea Black was born in Boston and graduated from Harvard College in 1991. Her work has won the Arts & Letters prize, been cited as distinguished in The Best American Short Stories, and appeared in nearly a dozen literary magazines, including The Kenyon Review, The Antioch Review, and Narrative.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Broadway; Original edition (July 5, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307886034
• ISBN-13: 978-0307886033
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #161,160 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Condensed Brilliance, May 27, 2011

By 

Gayla M. Collins (Sheridan, WY) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Knew You'd Be Lovely (Paperback)

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In high school and college English majors are often made to read the short story. I am grateful for this fact. "Parker's Back" by O'Conner, Faulkner's "Barn Burnings" and Miss Emily's Rose" are examples of the vignette medium that powerfully moved me. But, as a whole, for the past 50 years, I have mainly read novels, selfishly demanding more; more experience.; more in-depth character study; more profound connection. Alethea Black, the author of "I Knew You Would Be Lovely" brought me back to the pleasure of condensed brilliance. Thirteen vignettes of life are proffered in this short story collection; multiple insights into relationships with oneself, with friends, with family and with one's truths left me deeply stirred.


Of course I had my favorites...."Mollusks Make A Comeback." Katie, a woman afraid to try for more spoke solemnly through humor and jarred an "aha moment" so profound in me I am still shaking. What more can you demand of a story? Other favorites...."Someday is Today," "The Summer Before" and "Good In A Crisis" All thirteen invoked emotions and understanding I didn't know myself capable of. What more can be asked of a well crafted tale?

Alethea Black talent lies in her balance, intuitiveness, tenderness, sarcastic wit, shock value, humor and compassion. How could I ask anything more from a genius wordsmith?

Read at your own risk knowing par writing will most probably not be enough for you again. When you read extraordinary it is hard to lower that bar back down.

Thanks, Ms. Black, for insights and inspirations into your stories conceptions and birth.

In homage to "We've Got a Great Future Behind" us I simply sing, "it's close enough to perfect for me."

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OUTSTANDING SHORT STORY COLLECTION - SUCH BEAUTY IN BREVITY!, July 12, 2011

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: I Knew You'd Be Lovely (Paperback)

If I had been given but one story to read by the amazing Alethea Black, it would have been pleasure, indeed. However to receive a book holding 13 of her stories is almost too fine to be true. Black is a writer of rare talent with keen insights, precise craftsmanship, and understanding of human predicaments. Her short story collection I KNEW YOU'D BE LOVELY is a reminder of the beauty to be found in brevity.

It would be an impossibility to select a favorite or the one this reader considers to be the most splendid among Black's stories as each is a gem, its facets alive with rich details as her characters face decisions that may permanently alter their lives. The opening piece, "That Of which We Cannot Speak," introduces Bradley who reluctantly attends a New Year's Eve party where he meets a brunette with a clipboard hanging around her neck, "I can't speak, it said at the top of a sheet of paper. I have laryngitis." Amazing what can happen as notes are passed back and forth.

Black demonstrates her versatility and ability to explore the minds of young, old and in between with her second story, "The Only Way Out Is Through," sharing the thoughts of a father of a troubled son as they go on an ill-advised camping trip. In "Good In A Crisis" Ginny is a dissatisfied school teacher who well remembers her favorite teacher, "His classroom had all the elegance and electricity hers lacked." She wonders if he is still alive; if so, is he married? She decides to try and find him

The title story concerns a young couple, Hannah and Tom. As his birthday nears she wants to find the perfect present. At the same time she's a bit perturbed by letters that have begun arriving for him from a woman he met six months ago at a writing seminar in Prague. As the letters continued, "Hannah found herself resenting the postman and rethinking his holiday bonus...." But, what could she or should she do?

Alethea Black's collection of stories is very much like that proverbial box of chocolates - all are very different and each is totally delicious.

- Gail Cooke

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A mixed bag of short stories: Some hits, some "misses", May 27, 2011

By 

IRG (NYC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: I Knew You'd Be Lovely (Paperback)

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Short story collections can be tough. Of those I've read, it's the rare instance when I love most or all of those contained in a volume. Even if I'm a huge fan of a particular writer.

But even if there is only one story that touches or moves you, it's worth your time. Such may be the case with this collection. Sampling these stories is the equivalent of stepping out of your comfort zone to try different types of dance, theater or music. You never know.

This author grabbed my gut and heart with her first story in this volume, "That of Which We Cannot Speak," a story I could relate to on so many levels. Sometimes it feels as if an author has been observing your own life and chronicling it, but of course injecting far more intriguing and witty dialogue! The challenge of what to say, and when, and how to say it, is sweetly played out here with a clever device.

I laughed, again with recognition, through "We've Got a Great Future Ahead of Us." If you've ever worked with creative types, you'll relate to this piece about two songwriters who reunited at the behest (well, maybe a bit of emotional blackmail is involved here, but for a good cause) of a former associate.

I reread "Proof of Love" twice but it still left me bewildered. Just could not relate to the characters or the situation.

Overall, I feel this collection may resonate more for younger, female readers in terms of the situations and the characters. It's hard to review short stories since it's often not about writing style, or tone, or even POV. For me, it's a case of a/can I relate; b/it makes me see something in a whole new way; c/it makes me laugh or d/it touches my heart. Quite a few of these stories met that criteria.

It was hard to really find a theme or overall POV on these.

It took me quite a few sessions to get thru the book. It just didn't grab me enough to keep going although there were lines of dialogue or setups in almost every story that I noted. (Sometimes the clever titles were more intriguing than the actual stories. Perhaps the titles raised my expectations.)

A big plus, and something I greatly enjoyed, were the Author's notes, which provided a bit of backstory.

Depending on your life, you may find these stories far more interesting than I did.

So, come without expectations, and see where the words and stories take you. You really have nothing to loose, given these quick reads. There's bound to be one or more that will make it worth your while.