Williams' werken verkennen de menselijke conditie met scherpe intelligentie en een kenmerkende stem. Haar proza, dat romans, korte verhalen en essays omvat, duikt vaak in complexe relaties en morele dilemma's. Met precisie en empathie ontrafelt ze het innerlijke leven van haar personages, waarbij ze lezers uitdaagt om na te denken over de wereld om hen heen. Haar vermogen om de essentie van de menselijke ervaring te vangen, maakt haar tot een belangrijke stem in de hedendaagse literatuur.
A collection of "uncommonly good stories" ( The Chicago Tribune ) from a true American master of the short story—disturbing, comic, and moving takes that find deeper meanings in ordinary domestic life.With unforgettable characters, places, and events—a young divorcee, a shared summer home, a troubled family, a wedding, the death of a pet—Williams takes her readers on journey after journey, as only she can.
From azure coastlines to primeval swampland, from pastel playgrounds to exotic flowers and wildlife, this delicious photographic tour serves up a feast of tropical treats for the senses.
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD NOMINEE • This "beautifully crafted" (The New York Times Book Review), haunting, profoundly disquieting novel manages to be at once sparse and lush, to combine Biblical simplicity with Gothic intensity and strangeness. It is the story of Kate, despised by her mother, bound to her father by ties stronger and darker than blood. It is the story of her attempted escapes—in detached sexual encounters, at a Southern college populated by spoiled and perverse beauties, and in a doomed marriage to a man who cannot understand what she is running from. Witty, erotic, searing acute, State of Grace bears the inimitable stamp of one of our finest and most provocative writers.
Alice, Corvus and Annabel, each a motherless child, form an unlikely friendship. Alice is filled with convictions, Corvus with loss, and Annabel with a worldly pragmatism. Thrown together one summer, they make their way through an air-conditioned landscape electric with signs and portents and peopled by restless, disengaged adults. Annabel's father lusts after Donald, his handsome gardener, while enduring nightly visitations from his dead wife; a young stroke victim drifts westward, his luck running from bad to worse after he meets the girls; a sickly musician for whom Alice develops an attraction is drawn towards a darker solution; and an ageing big-game hunter finds spiritual renewal through his infatuation with eight-year-old Emily Bliss Pickless. Gloriously funny and wonderfully serious, The Quick and the Dead explores the vagaries of love, our thirst for meaning, and the peculiar paths by which all of us are led to our destiny.
Nineteen essays ranging from saving the whales and anti-hunting to wildlife in Africa, animal rights, and population control.
Exploring the Florida Keys, this handbook offers a blend of local legends and practical travel advice along U.S. Highway 1 from Key Largo to Key West. Joy Williams, an acclaimed novelist and Florida resident, shares captivating stories and insights that highlight the unique charm of the islands. Readers will find recommendations on accommodations, dining, and activities, making it an essential resource for both first-time visitors and seasoned travelers seeking to uncover the region's rich history and vibrant culture.
Among the "best American short stories of the past two decades" (The Atlantic Monthly) from one of our most acclaimed writers. In short stories "so vibrant and alive they have heartbeats, the prose so electric and dazzling it makes the pulse race" (Vanity Fair), a masseuse breaks her rich client's wrist bone, a friend visits at the hospital long after she is welcome, and a woman surrenders her husband to a creepily adoring student. With her singular brand of gorgeous dark humor, Joy Williams explores the various ways—comic, tragic, and unnerving—we seek to accommodate diminishment and loss, offering a rich examination of our capacity for transformation and salvation.
'How to tell the story of a 500-page collection of stories spanning more than forty years? Especially when I really want to just exclaim, "Oh, Oh, OH!" in a state of steadily mounting rapture' Geoff Dyer, ObserverWilliams' uniquely devastating portrayals of modern life have been captivating readers and writers for decades. Here, for the first time, Williams' thirty-three best stories are available in a single volume, together with thirteen new stories that show a writer continuing to mould the form into something strange and new.Bleak but funny, real but surreal, domestic but dangerous, familiar but enigmatic, Joy Williams' stories fray away the fabric at the edge of ordinary experience to reveal the loneliness at the heart of human life.In 'The Lover', a girl suffers a spiritual and physical wasting away; in 'The Visiting Privilege', a visitor finds refuge in her friend's psychiatric ward; in 'Charity', a woman gives a poor family gas money and finds herself marooned in their peculiar world; in 'Another Season' an itinerant man cleanses an island of roadkill; in 'Craving' an alcoholic couple head towards a car crash.The Visiting Privilege represents the culmination of Williams' career and cements her place as the most singular artist of short fiction writing today.
Three teenage friends, Alice, Corvus, and Annabel, travel across a desert populated by confused adults
Eighteen stories by contemporary female authors blend surrealism and dark comedy, offering inventive narratives that explore the complexities of human nature. Drawing inspiration from literary giants, these writers create unique worlds that challenge traditional fiction, inviting readers to experience extraordinary scenarios—from transforming into a deer to exploring undersea realms. This collection highlights the innovative contributions of women in literature, showcasing their ability to delve into deep psychological themes while crafting imaginative tales that captivate and intrigue.