The Apple's Bruise: Stories

by Lisa Glatt

From the bestselling author of A Girl Becomes a Comma Like That, a moving, disturbing, and utterly original collection of stories that examine a universe where memory and fact collide, and the imagination fills in the gaps left behind.
The stories in The Apple's Bruise take a smart and unflinching look at love, frailty, and happiness and prove beyond doubt that Glatt is a modern master at blending heartbreak and hilarity. In "Dirty Hannah Gets Hit by a Car," a seven-year-old girl bullied by a neighbor across the street gains strength after a serious accident; in "Animals," a zoo veterinarian from a family of butchers tries at once to deal with his marital problems and the high rate at which his animals are dying; and in "Soup," a young widow tries to reconcile her feelings for her teenage son's friend, the town delinquent.
With tenderness, insight, and humor, Glatt casts her gaze simultaneously on the beauty and the absurdity of our humanity, creating unforgettable portrayals of unusual characters and the complexities of desire and fidelity that compel them.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Lisa Glatt is the author of the novels The Nakeds and A Girl Becomes a Comma Like That, as well as the short story collection The Apple's Bruise. Her poetry collections include Shelter and Monsters & Other Lovers. Lisa's work has appeared in such magazines as Zoetrope, Mississippi Review, Columbia, Indiana Review, Pearl, and The Sun. She was recently awarded a fellowship to the Civitella Ranieri Center in Italy. Lisa currently teaches at California State University, Long Beach and private workshops. Glatt is married to writer David Hernandez.

Reviews

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plenty of edgy situations in these stories. The narration, with most of these, though, just felt too distant from the characters, even with the first-person and close third POVs. Observing rather than participating. Decent stories, but left me unsatisfied.

[krista. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had absolutely no interest in/sympathy for the majority of these characters or their situations. In a few cases, I just didn't believe the characters (not that they were unreliable, but that they were not well written--the little girl in the first story, for instance). I agree with a previous reviewer who said that the stories felt like the ended just before something was about to happen. They're all very anti-climactic. Only the last 2 or 3 stories held my interest at all and didn't result in some eye-rolling. I enjoyed Glatt's book A Girl Becomes a Comma Like That much more.

[Edan · Rating 3 out of 5]

These stories are easy to fall into, and every one of them has something to recommend it, whether it be the prose's sassy rhythm, or some odd premise (boyfriend wants girlfriend to pee on him, for instance). But only one story, "The Body Shop" felt complete and fully realized to me--so many others ended too soon, some even right before the moment of highest tension. I like Glatt's novel, A Girl Becomes a Comma Like That, much better.

[Patrick Tobin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection. Funny, dark, utterly human.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories. Quick and most of the stories were good.