Two If by Sea

by Anne-E Wood

Fiction. Anne-E. Wood's TWO IF BY SEA, is her first collections of short stories. "What will strike you first is the sheer energy and muscularity of Wood's prose. This is a book full of wounds, of damage, of mayhem, an unflinching look at the American family, past and present. But read these stories with as much slow care as they were written, and what you will take away-and what will remain a long time after you put this book down-are the very souls 9and hearts0 of her characters"-Peter Orner. TWO IF BY SEA is Winner of the 2006 Michael Rubin Chapbook Award. Wood is the Associate Artistic Director of Performing Arts Workshop in San Francisco, where she teaches Creative Writing and Theater.

138 pages, Paperback

First published October 25, 2006

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This great book showed me how beautiful the obscure and seemingly ugly can be. Anne-E Wood's work transported me into a world where imperfection and sorrow are omnipresent and okay. While reading this I felt as though I could let go of any expectations that I might have had for the different stories. Every new story takes you on a new journey, completely ripping you away from your world. It is difficult to emerge from this piece; to not read it in one sitting. These stories deserve to be taken in one by one. After I read this, I wished I could go back in time to read it again for the first time. Books like these are the reason I am constantly on the lookout for stories that can occupy my thoughts even after I have long finished reading them.
For me, it is one of the most captivating books I have ever read, and I come back to it often to find inspiration and comfort.

[Ross Lockhart · Rating 3 out of 5]

I made the mistake of reading this Michael Rubin Chapbook Award-winning collection of short-short stories deadpan. It was a gut-wrenching emotional experience, like tragedy in slow motion. Tonight, Anne-E came to the creative writing class that I T.A. and read for us. Had I realized that the stories are meant to be read with a smirk and a smile, I would have had a much better time. Ah, well. Live and learn.

[TRXTRMXTR · Rating 5 out of 5]

Visceral imagery is best.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and swift vignettes. Each new title ready to escort you to the next. It was hard putting this book down. I'm so glad I came across it. At times brutal, and at times tender.