You Won't Remember This: Stories (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Blackwell's debut collection vividly draws on the Southern storytelling tradition in its 12 gentle but unsentimental stories. In "My First Wedding," an unnamed narrator remembers her first peek at the rituals of Southern bridehood when her cousin Augusta married a Yankee. "Heartbeatland" is Anne Tyler territory: Anne and David, transplants to North Carolina who call themselves "the Schoolmaster" and "Princess Annabel," develop sarcastic nicknames for their neighbors, but when David dies, Anne finds herself simultaneously relying on and distrusting the "neigh-boors." Blackwell illustrates her stories with sharp and sometimes unsettling word snapshots: a past-its-prime piñata disgorges "misshapen" candy "mottled with mold"; a miserably pregnant woman plods "around the garden, holding her enormous stomach, her legs like an elephant's." Even "Pepper Hunt," a disturbing five-page story about a divorced man and his daughter meeting in a luncheonette, is a pinpoint novella with fully drawn characters. If Blackwell has one unifying theme, it's how ritual both distances people and enables them to live together. This shrewd collection should appeal to fans of contemporary Southern short story masters like Tim Gautreaux and John Biguenet. (June)
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From Booklist

Engaging characters face the tangles of life—marriage, adultery, malfeasance, aging, pregnancy—in this adroit debut collection. Twelve finely crafted stories, based in the South, are grounded in the ordinary yet clarify nuances with intimate angles. In the standout "Heartbeatland," Anne and her husband have recently moved to North Carolina and come up with sardonic nicknames for people in their new neighborhood. Yet, when an unexpected death occurs, Anne finds that she must rely on their neighbors to come to terms with the tragedy. "What We Do for Love" showcases a delicately involved triangle between Linda, a weaver; Tanner, Linda's best friend from childhood; and Jack, Tanner's husband. Backdropped against a love-crossed murder trial, the underlying relationships simmer with affecting poignancy. In "The Minaret," Miles and Bunny, a husband and wife on vacation in Greece, strike up a relationship with a younger couple that yields a provocative outcome. Although a few stories evince a distancing imbalance, narrative strengths lie in Blackwell's clever perceptions and sharp insight. Strauss, Leah
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Southern Methodist University Press (June 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870745158
• ISBN-13: 978-0870745157
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,133,102 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars you won't remember this, July 6, 2007

By	Diana Zumas - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A poetic, profound, and masterly crafted collection of stories. Blackwell's writing blends the elegance and entertainment of southern storytelling with her own unique voice. It was one of those books to which I wanted to return and didn't want to put down. No story disappointed.