The Nature of Longing

by Alyce Miller

The eight stories in 'The Nature of Longing' move beyond conventional boundaries of race and gender to explore the universal desire to belong. Avoiding easy answers, Alyce Miller probes the overlapping worlds of blacks, whites, gays, and straights, all caught in the ordinary human struggle to connect with parents, spouses, lovers, friends, and children. In the title story, a gay librarian in upstate New York is cruelly outed but finds comfort in the letter of a man he's never met. In "Color Struck," a black mother in East Oakland struggles with her inability to name, and thus to accept, her albino daughter. In "Summer in Detroit," a black man, visiting his ailing white grandmother, is forced to relive a personal tragedy that occurred during the 1967 riots. The novella that closes the book, "Dead Women," examines a young American woman's search in Europe for romance that lasts beyond desire. Miller gives substance to her characters' poignant longing, which manifests itself in unexpected ways.

Genres: Short Stories

242 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1994

Reviews

[Bob McGee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could anything be more derivative?

[carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first and last stories of this are her best. I fell for the characters in such a way that, even if I didn't like them, I wanted to know them better. All her stories deal with much the same topic: what it feels like to be black. What's unique to Miller's stories is that she portrays characters who want to be more black and less white in order to fit in. Only three stars because the middle stories blended together in a mix of half-interesting characters and boring dialogue.

[Rebecca A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have read this book simply because the author photo displayed the most amazing head of red hair! The author, who's also a pro bono attorney for family and animal rights, has more than that going for her, for instance, a bunch of writing awards.

Wikipedia: "Her first collection of stories, The Nature of Longing, 1995, won the Flannery O'Connor Award. Her second story collection Water (Sarabande Books), 2008, won the Mary McCarthy Prize for Short Fiction."

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flannery O'Connor Award

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good, like all Flannery O'Connor Award winners.