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Close Encounters
Here are maps of the distances between us and within us. With humor, anger and deep emotion, Jen Michalski's first collection of stories is a window on the daily struggle for connection that links and separates us all. (2nd printing; paperback edition).
“Michalski reveals to the reader the sparkly gems of the seediest of worlds. Michalski is best when she creates realities that blur with fantasies, which she accomplishes in the majority of the pieces. These stories cut a reader to the bone and are deeply compelling.”—Pedestal Magazine
“….these quick-paced, adorable stories could go on forever. You want them to go on forever because of their incredible intrigue.”—Ryn Gargulinski, The Potomac
“Michalski has a natural talent for creating believable, fully-fleshed characters a reader can empathize with. The author has a subtle touch and trusts her characters to tell their own story.”—13th Warrior Review
“…the prose inside is solid, the imaginative tales read well.”—Sara Crowley, The Short Review
“Jen Michalski’s debut collection is full of quirky stories, damaged characters, surprising humor, and tender prose.”—Michael Kimball, author of Dear Everybody
“Jen Michalski’s stories remind me of internal, haunting, whispers. There is a calm, meditative exterior that houses a world of vivid drama, intrigue, great beauty and wonder, a joy to read!”—Jessica Anya Blau, author of The Summer of Naked Swim Parties
“Michalski reveals to the reader the sparkly gems of the seediest of worlds. Michalski is best when she creates realities that blur with fantasies, which she accomplishes in the majority of the pieces. These stories cut a reader to the bone and are deeply compelling.”—Pedestal Magazine
“….these quick-paced, adorable stories could go on forever. You want them to go on forever because of their incredible intrigue.”—Ryn Gargulinski, The Potomac
“Michalski has a natural talent for creating believable, fully-fleshed characters a reader can empathize with. The author has a subtle touch and trusts her characters to tell their own story.”—13th Warrior Review
“…the prose inside is solid, the imaginative tales read well.”—Sara Crowley, The Short Review
“Jen Michalski’s debut collection is full of quirky stories, damaged characters, surprising humor, and tender prose.”—Michael Kimball, author of Dear Everybody
“Jen Michalski’s stories remind me of internal, haunting, whispers. There is a calm, meditative exterior that houses a world of vivid drama, intrigue, great beauty and wonder, a joy to read!”—Jessica Anya Blau, author of The Summer of Naked Swim Parties
148 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2007
23 people want to read
About the author
Jen Michalski
17 books259 followersJen Michalski is the author of the novels All This Can Be True (Turner/Key Light, June 2025), You'll Be FIne (NineStar Press, 2021), The Summer She Was Under Water (Black Lawrence Press, 2017), and The Tide King (Black Lawrence Press 2013), a couplet of novellas called Could You Be With Her Now (Dzanc Books 2013), and three collections of fiction (The Company of Strangers, 2023; From Here, 2014; and Close Encounters, 2007). Her work has appeared in more than 100 publications, including Poets & Writers, and she's been nominated for the Pushcart Prize seven times. In 2013, she was named as “One of 50 Women to Watch” by The Baltimore Sun and “Best Writer” by Baltimore Magazine. She is editor in chief of the literary weekly jmww.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 24, 2008
Jen Michalski's book is full of stories that are strange and imaginative and thoughtful and wonderful. Her writing is creative and very deftly crafted. Highly recommended.
June 14, 2012
Jen Michalski, my editor at JMWW, sent me this book as a gift. Much appreciated!!!! I always worry when it's time to say something on Goodreads, especially about friends, even ones I haven't met yet, like Jen! It's scary: I don't want to talk about things I didn't like, but I don't want to be overly gushy and obviously phony.
That being said, I LOVED Jen's collection! Most of the stories brought up new ideas I haven't read before, and as a person with 2 graduate degrees in short fiction writing, I've read A LOT. There were some stories that had familiar concepts, but I kept thinking of the infamous Ezra Pound's "make it new." Not one story felt easy, trivial, like a stereotype, or boring. I'm so excited to read more of her work (look for her new collection from Dzanc early 2013).
One interesting aspect, which I haven't seen before (maybe others have?), was the author's note; Jen describes her intentions with these stories (which also better explains the "out of this world" title). It reminded me of a poetry reading. Poets explain what their ideas were for a poem and then read it and I respond much better. This is also the reason I don't read a lot of poetry (a lot of it doesn't make sense without that background information). However, that wasn't the case here; the author's note added to the collection, providing a lens through which I could read the stories, but it didn't tell me HOW to read the stories. I would have made my own deductions without it, but I loved the heads up so I could get a richer experience on my first read.
I don't want to say much more, as many of these stories contain small surprises as the plot develops and reveals more information. You'll have to read them yourself.
That being said, I LOVED Jen's collection! Most of the stories brought up new ideas I haven't read before, and as a person with 2 graduate degrees in short fiction writing, I've read A LOT. There were some stories that had familiar concepts, but I kept thinking of the infamous Ezra Pound's "make it new." Not one story felt easy, trivial, like a stereotype, or boring. I'm so excited to read more of her work (look for her new collection from Dzanc early 2013).
One interesting aspect, which I haven't seen before (maybe others have?), was the author's note; Jen describes her intentions with these stories (which also better explains the "out of this world" title). It reminded me of a poetry reading. Poets explain what their ideas were for a poem and then read it and I respond much better. This is also the reason I don't read a lot of poetry (a lot of it doesn't make sense without that background information). However, that wasn't the case here; the author's note added to the collection, providing a lens through which I could read the stories, but it didn't tell me HOW to read the stories. I would have made my own deductions without it, but I loved the heads up so I could get a richer experience on my first read.
I don't want to say much more, as many of these stories contain small surprises as the plot develops and reveals more information. You'll have to read them yourself.
September 12, 2007
Cross-posted at Amazon:
Jen Michalski's short stories are at once subtly freaky, tender, and layered. Her lavish characters are Baltimoreans through-and-through; quirky, damaged, and gettin' by. She writes in acute prose, with each sentence in its place 'cause that's the place that they should be. The book itself -- as artifact -- is worth the purchase price alone as it seems lovingly hand-crafted (although, if you're persnickety, this means that some of the pages are hard to handle).
Jen Michalski's short stories are at once subtly freaky, tender, and layered. Her lavish characters are Baltimoreans through-and-through; quirky, damaged, and gettin' by. She writes in acute prose, with each sentence in its place 'cause that's the place that they should be. The book itself -- as artifact -- is worth the purchase price alone as it seems lovingly hand-crafted (although, if you're persnickety, this means that some of the pages are hard to handle).
January 12, 2012
I love these stories. They are wild and inventive, everything I look for in stories. Each one has something unusual about it, yet each of the stories are very different. Some of them have some pretty strong emotional impact, though all of them are really well written. I picked this up on a whim and I'm quite impressed.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews