Love: Short Fiction

by Valerie Martin

Ms. Martin's a preoccupation with the dark underside of life, a taste for disturbing, even macabre imagery excursions into an unseen realm [of] strange and magical events Martin possesses a sure storytelling gift, [an] ability to transform a myriad of specific details into larger, symbolic shapes. ―New York Times

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Valerie Martin is the author of nine novels, including Trespass, Mary Reilly, Italian Fever, and Property, three collections of short fiction, and a biography of St. Francis of Assisi, titled Salvation. She has been awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, as well as the Kafka Prize (for Mary Reilly) and Britain’s Orange Prize (for Property). Martin’s last novel, The Confessions of Edward Day was a New York Times notable book for 2009.
A new novel The Ghost of the Mary Celeste is due from Nan Talese/Random House in January 2014, and a middle-grade book Anton and Cecil, Cats at Sea, co-written with Valerie’s niece Lisa Martin, will be out from Algonquin in October of 2013.
Valerie Martin has taught in writing programs at Mt. Holyoke College, Univ. of Massachusetts, and Sarah Lawrence College, among others. She resides in Dutchess County, New York and is currently Professor of English at Mt. Holyoke College.

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title of this very slim volume surely has to be ironic (as I think the title of the only other story collection I've read by Martin so far, "The Consolation of Nature," is too) as these stories are about the extremely obsessive side of 'love' and not about 'real' love at all (except maybe in one story in which the recognition of love comes way too late.) As in many of her other works, the stories here are disturbing, very unsettling, even funny and quite true.

[Claire Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seven short but intensely imagined stories, a magical number, in order to explore the conflictual rewards and agonies of love. Tenderness runs through this book which has violence on each page. The contradictions take us to a place of sincerity, and something felt but never quite articulated like this before.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Without a doubt, this is one of the most bizarre books I have ever read. It felt like I was reading the ramblings of a drunk person, like the book was addressed to a particular person the author had in mind, someone who knew more than the readers and can read between the lines.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each and every one of these snapshots into the lives of seven people offer a glimpse into a mindset; be it one tormented by loneliness, OCD tendencies, bitterness or hope. And that’s just my interpretation. Martin’s prose never quite feels finished, which superbly enhances the “fleeting thoughts” style through which we launch breathlessly into the experiences of the characters. We become privy to their innermost desires and fears, and join them at moments of heightened emotions.

Some stories will leave you filling in the gaps, or recognising qualities or habits in the characters that you may also possess. Some will leave you confused and quite unable to put the pieces of the puzzle together; so cryptic are the mechanisms of the human mind that Martin explores in her prose. A thrilling and refreshing read that’ll leave you with a much more philosophical reflection on what “love” means to different people. -

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[The Twins · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure why the book is titled "Love" as the stories have nothing to do with ordinary love, but then nothing about those stories is ordinary. They are written to shock and some are a bit confusing.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning. Simply stunning.