In the Book I'm Reading

by Mary Kane

A collection of little stories that brim with the tiny, specific details of a moment -- the cups, the shoes, the scarves, the books -- and the humor, tenderness, uneasiness, sadness, and wisdom that define entire lives.

132 pages, Paperback

Published March 7, 2023

Reviews

[Jenny Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary Kane is a new author for me, and she blew me out of the water with “In the Book I’m Reading.” I can’t remember the last time I was so impressed by a book of short stories.

The experience here is tricky to describe: I’m saying short stories, but many are more like fragments—two or three paragraphs at most. But even the shortest texts here (one or two sentences) are so carefully thought out and well executed that the essence of the short story—plot, character, scene—is all in there. Kane creates a whole world in under a page.

The experience reminds me of reading Jorge Luis Borges’s story “The Garden of Forking Paths,” distilled down to pure essence. The themes are all there: language, text, relationships, death, time, permeability, and desire.

I read this slim book incredibly slowly over the course of two months because that’s how much I enjoyed it. And then I re-read all my favorites, And the structure of the book as a whole started to emerge—these aren’t just stories, they’re texts connected to each other, interwoven with nodal moments. The effect is that, as a collected book, it feels like you’re reading facets. It’s like somewhere in there is the seed or kernel of a specific life already experiences, and then we’re looking at it through a faceted jewel that refracts this underlying “hidden narrative” so that every time we turn a page, we are reading something new.

Highly recommended for readers who enjoy thinking about the nature of language and its textual form, thinking about the ways texts intersect with bodies and the material world, thinking about the various shapes desire can take and how language affects this desire. And for lovers of poetry, ambiguity, and beauty.

[Talia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why do I think this slim volume, "In the Book I'm Reading" by Mary Kane, belongs with books like those of JD Salinger and Toni Morrison, as well as art films like Death in Venice or a really good art show? The answer can be found in what the writing does to my senses and my way of experiencing the world. After I have read a few of the short stories in the book, I become less left-brained, and more right-brained, and I start finding the small unspectacular moments in life to be rich and weighty, somehow meaningful, despite their ordinariness. Each story has beautiful writing, quixotic vignettes, subtle humor, and clever insights; each invokes imaginative scenes. Like my favorite art shows, the stories include realism, surrealism, and abstract 'pieces', providing a diversity of styles which greatly enhances the overall reading experience. I bought half a dozen copies of this book as holiday gifts - now I have to select my most poetic and intellectual friends as recipients.
Posted on behalf of Robin S

[CHRIS CARTER · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is made up of short pieces that focus on tiny, everyday details, cups on a table, shoes by a door, scarves, books, and passing thoughts. On the surface, these moments seem simple, but as you read, you realize how much emotion is packed into each one. Every story captures something familiar and human.

The writing is gentle and easy to understand, but it carries a lot of feeling. Some pieces are funny, some are tender, some are uncomfortable, and some are sad. Together, they show how ordinary moments can reflect love, loss, loneliness, memory, and wisdom. Nothing feels rushed or forced, it all feels real.

What makes this book special is how much it trusts the reader. The stories don’t explain everything. Instead, they let you sit with a feeling and recognize parts of your own life in the details. Even though the book is short, it leaves a lasting impression.

This is the kind of book you read slowly, maybe a story or two at a time, and think about afterward. It’s calm, honest, and deeply human.

[Christopher Madsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book of fifty-one micro fiction stories in manuscript form before its publication a year or so ago and then read it again now. The longest of the stories is 9 pages, the shortest one sentence. It’s the kind of book that subtly seeps into your bones. The kind of book you find yourself thinking about months later. I was surprised to discover that my memory of a conversation with my sister about the end of a friendship was, in fact, one of these stories.
I called it micro fiction, but really Kane’s writing defies the pigeonholes of genera. It’s meta fiction, stream-of-conscience, short fiction, and just the plain love of language. Some are a snapshot of one moment, while others explore the nature of memory, ageing, and marriage and relationships in their ordinary middle. I don’t think it's hyperbole to call In The Book I’m Reading a kind of magic in the way it quietly takes hold of the imagination.

[Mark Matheson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the Book I’m Reading only has 5 ratings (at the time of writing), but deserves more readers. Kane’s micro-fiction is small (like the quotidian moments she focuses on), yet there’s a pulse in her writing; the “lived-in” quality of her stories is further bolstered by the reoccurring characters and the connection between her vignettes. This is a gem I’m glad to have discovered at Eight Cousins Bookstore in Falmouth, MA.