Places in the World a Woman Could Walk

by Janet Kauffman

The women in Janet Kauffman's spirited stories are unafraid to look closely at their flawed lives. Burdened by the struggles of a rural existence, they are determined to embrace the simplest pleasures with a true heart. Whether slaughtering a favorite cow or leaving a violent husband, these characters make tough choices and live with the consequences.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Janet Kauffman was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and raised on a tobacco farm. She teaches at Eastern Michigan University.

Reviews

[Zuska · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have owned this slim book of shorts stories about the lives of rural Michigan farm women since sometime in the late 80s, probably shortly after it came out - it was gifted to me. I've hauled it around with me through countless moves in three states and across the pond and back. Finally gave it a read. I admit I did not finish it. I loved all the women characters in the stories I did read, and one or two of the stories themselves, but it wasn't enough to keep me reading. Maybe I'm just in too frazzled of a state to appreciate them right now. I've had the book for some 35 years, I might as well hang onto it and give it another try someday.

[Emily Dunne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect collection of short stories. The way the characters (mostly women) blossom in this book reminds me a lot of spring. Coming out of a polar vortex, this is exactly what I needed. I don’t know how to explain it. Although it jumped around the seasons, it felt like the first dot of warmth that comes when warmer weather is approaching. Although we still have a bit of winter to go and this has already felt like the longest year ever, this book reminded me that spring is coming.

[molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

"a woman belongs to the planet!"

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't initially won over by these spare stories, but Kauffman's style grew on me as the collection progressed. These stories circle around familiar themes, some which I found tiresome: rural life, relationships (usually abusive and stymied by a chasm-like division between the sexes), and most interestingly, women who simply look for silence, solace, and respite in the natural landscape and/or each other. Her terse, carefully-tuned prose deserves praise. Descriptions such as this kept me reading: "It was zero all day, the sun round, the light like knives. Winter is mean metal in Michigan."

[Longhare Content · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't give out a lot of four star ratings, but I do not understand how it can be that Janet Kauffman is not a bigger name in American lit. She's dazzling. Think Gracy Paley with a pitchfork.

[Jan Priddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories I liked, some did nothing for me. These are weirdly unfamiliar (a plus) and mostly slice of life (for me a minus). Stories seemed sliced out of something it didn't quite get to. It isn't enough for me to find a story set-up, a "situation" my writing partner and I called it. It needs to go someplace. Most of these didn't go anywhere at all. Way too much detail about teeth, big front teeth, tipped inward or outward. Black hair. In "How Many Boys" the serial failure of appliances made me smile, because that's happened to me and I used it in a story too. The collection is short enough that I soldered on to the end. If I'd found one of these stories in a journal, I'd likely have skipped past. One story had a page corner turned down, and I assume that's because the previous owner liked it best. It was, in the end, a romance, but the creep factor was pretty high for me at the start and I still wasn't certain at the end. I had to reread it to ensure myself the POV character didn't kill her.

[Mattiedee · Rating 3 out of 5]

12 short stories, 132 pages, 40 year old book. Farms and small towns in Michigan.

The stories are mostly gloomy, brutal, absurd, open-ended. A few were hopeful, maybe romantic, but reading even them I was on edge and expecting the worst.

Readers who lived in these areas during that time might identify with these hardy survivors. I would get more out of a second reading, but if I decide to re-read short stories I'll choose Lucia Berlin or Danielle Evans.

[Arnie Kahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful short stories about women in small town Michigan. The best is Patriotic, about baling hay of all things. These are stories about strong farm women; men are absent or disappointing.

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This slim volume has potential and good writing but also feels a little frenetic and disconnected. Several stories are outstanding; several are equal parts strange and uncompelling.

[Mimi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't bother. Kauffman's writing craft is singular, but the stories themselves go nowhere.

[Margo Solod · Rating 4 out of 5]

i am not, in general, a big fan of short stories. this is a good example of a woman who had one really great book of stories in her. i felt her second book was a total letdown. if she's written anything since i haven't found it, but then i haven looked too hard.

[Greta · Rating 3 out of 5]

A big belly laugh was a gift from one of her many mostly odd short stories. I would read more of her work if I could find her in print. It's thanks to Graywolf Rediscovery that I lucked out in finding her at all.

[Andrea Weber · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a hard time getting into short stories. I read about half of them and they just didn't grab me.

[Diana]

One of my favorite books