An Explanation for Chaos

by Julie Schumacher

A mother's imminent death bizarrely reorders a family's dynamics...A cruel prank perpetrated by two little girls on a classmate alters their three lives in unexpected ways...A daughter struggles to explain a troubled relationship with her father, an obsessive scientist whom she simultaneously resents and adores...These are three of the nine remarkable stories by acclaimed author Julie Schumacher that appear in this marvelous new collection. Here is short fiction that offers poignant and unforgettable views of the disordered, unpredictable world of parents and children, sisters and brothers. There are two O'Henry Award-winners in "An Explanation For Chaos", one of which was included in Best American Short Stories. From out of the painful cacophonies of youth and family emerge cries of despair and declarations of hope -- angry defiance and harsh, piercing laughter -- in a startling and intensely beautiful exploration of the chaos that is life from one of the most original and exciting voices in contemporary American literature.

Contents:
Reunion --
The private life of Robert Schumann --
Levitation --
Dummies --
Dividing Madelyn --
An explanation for chaos --
Telling Uncle R.

Genres: Short Stories

165 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

JULIE SCHUMACHER grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, and graduated from Oberlin College and Cornell University, where she earned her MFA. Her first novel, The Body Is Water, was published by Soho Press in 1995 and was an ALA Notable Book of the Year and a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award. Her 2014 novel, Dear Committee Members, won the Thurber Prize for American Humor; she is the first woman to have been so honored. She lives in St. Paul and is a faculty member in the Creative Writing Program and the Department of English at the University of Minnesota.

Reviews

[Margaret Black]

Quick and easy read, great for downtime on a backpacking trip!

[Lorelei]

I liked this so much that I will immediately be searching for another book by this author. I hope it exists.

[Kristina Woods]

Beautifully written gripping snapshots of the lives of several different families living in their own form of chaos.

[Bonnie]

Short stories are really not my thing but I enjoyed this except for the title story "an explanation of chaos".

[Krista]

Collection of short stories..