Our Former Lives in Art: Stories

by Jennifer S. Davis

Set against the backdrop of the Deep South, these nine haunting stories explore big themes–authenticity, the relinquishing of childhood, the acceptance of dreams lost–in a way that ultimately affirms the act of living and the value of human relationships. In “Giving Up the Ghost,” a man sits beside a fatal car wreck to share the last moments of a stranger’s life. In “Witnessing,” a young woman befriends her lover’s ailing wife. In “Rapture,” a housewife’s unexpected romantic encounter during a tornado rocks her tidy suburban existence.
How do we become who we are? And what makes us love one another? With empathy, wit, and beautiful language, Davis blends the real and the imagined to create a kaleidoscope of the human heart.
Praise for Our Former Lives in Art
“Davis creates magnificently conflicted characters with low key stylistic panache.”
– Publishers Weekly

“Davis shares with other southern female short-story writers, such as Flannery O’Connor and Eudora Welty, a sense of relish of the absurdity running through the human condition.”
– Booklist (starred review)

"A work of deep emotional resonance and acute psychological power"
– Holiday Reinhorn, author of Big Cats

“Jennifer Davis’s stories have a wry sensibility in them, and compassion, a sweet perversity, and a sense of wonder about just being alive. Her tales mark the craziness and sadness of adolescence as it collides inevitably with failed wishes, loss, and sexual desire.”
– Lynne Tillman, author of American Genius, A Comedy

"Unusually insightful and gorgeously written, these powerful stories reveal how sometimes the most unexpected discoveries in the present can illuminate the past and change a person forever.  Jennifer Davis is not only an author to watch, she's one to read–now."
– Cristina Henriquez, author of Come Together, Fall Apart

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Both of her parents like barbecues, cold beer, Neil Diamond, and bingo. Some stretch this into a marriage, and they did, and then they didn't."
-Lovely Lily

"...toward a row of tiny houses, shacks really, grassless yards made of pine needles and sand, yards full of aluminum cans and derelict cars and plastic toys and rubber balls, but no children, and Opal feels shamed that she lives in such a large house on the other side of town, a house bigger than all these shacks put together, a house built for babies that never came."
-Rapture

"He thinks of the earth's endless spinning, its inevitable motion of return, and he is strangely comforted by how negligible their lives must be for them to feel so still in the midst of such great movement."
-Our Former Lives in Art

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting collection of short stories set in Alabama by UCD English prof Jennifer Davis. I liked some more than others but disliked none. We read the book for the Auraria Campus book club and Jennifer came to the meeting. She was great, very friendly and bright and funny. She writes about what fascinates her about people as well as what she observed growing up in Alabama. She said she might have a few interesting things she has heard (apparently a lot from Oprah) or has read about and builds a story around them. She also talked about her experience with the publishing world. And, no, she did not pick the cover. Her other collection is Her Kind of Want which won the Iowa Short Fiction Award.

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

So, I was entertained enough that I bothered to finish the book while I was getting my oil changed at Jiffy Lube. But really, it was a series of short stories, and I really enjoyed two of them. Mostly I just felt dazed and confused every time I started a new story and could figure out who the characters were and whether the narrator was male or female, old or young, having sex with the person they kept talking about, or their parent. So ... yeah.

[sologdin · Rating 3 out of 5]

author here openly embraces the implicit mysticism of Her Kind of Want. gothic realism of initial effort develops dialectically into magical realism proper in this one. rhetorically strong and ideologically committed.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this because I'm determined to "do my part" as a writer and support my peers by actually buying the type of work I write. I was swayed by Pam Houston's blurb on the cover, I'll admit. I was pleased to find richly imagined complex characters in nearly every story.

[Joslyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

short stories that are somehow both homey and regular yet sad and profound. living details, and occasional lines that filter through to take the breath out of you, but given no more time than any other line to set before the story moves on. i'm really loving her writing.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 Stars.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

everything the book cover says about this book is true. these stories are absolutely brilliant! this is certainly a new classic! loved it, and the cover reminded me of my aunt theresa :)

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

not usually a huge short story fan, but love the way this author writes.

[Brigette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was a bit formulaic... Interesting imagery at times but overall, gives you the idea that any long term relationship or marriage is doomed to fail. Characters are all "lost" and "searching"

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

you had me at the toilet paper cover

[linnea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked it very much, but have to admit, the cover totally sold me this book.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories set in the south, well written, engaging.