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I Am Holding Your Hand
Fiction. Is there hope within even the darkest hearts? A woman has sex with her dead mother's husband. A child sleeps in a makeshift nest. A sister betrays a sister. A woman takes on the persona of a dead prostitute. All are in search of that which eludes an acknowledgement of a shared past, the fulfillment of a secret desire, a n tenuous connection made whole. Within I AM HOLDING YOUR HAND an array of tender, stark, authentic, and sometimes very lost souls discover a reason to live through their capacity to see beauty in the everyday and instead of coming to conclusions, they discover a way to begin again.
"I AM HOLDING YOUR HAND is a heartfelt collection of deaths of people, dreams, love, and hope. In this gritty collection, Myfanwy Collins gives voice to characters learning to live on despite such deaths. Characters who often act badly, but who are all the more believable and sympathetic because of their mistakes, failings, and struggles. Myfanwy Collins brings such compassion and tenderness to her stories while never sparing the stark truths. One of her characters tells us, The air was so sparse that our breath whispered back into our mouths to feed us . These stories whispered into me. They fed me."—Ethel Rohan
"I AM HOLDING YOUR HAND is a heartfelt collection of deaths of people, dreams, love, and hope. In this gritty collection, Myfanwy Collins gives voice to characters learning to live on despite such deaths. Characters who often act badly, but who are all the more believable and sympathetic because of their mistakes, failings, and struggles. Myfanwy Collins brings such compassion and tenderness to her stories while never sparing the stark truths. One of her characters tells us, The air was so sparse that our breath whispered back into our mouths to feed us . These stories whispered into me. They fed me."—Ethel Rohan
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
1 person is currently reading
343 people want to read
About the author
Myfanwy Collins
13 books225 followersMyfanwy Collins's debut novel is ECHOLOCATION (Engine Books, 2012). I AM HOLDING YOUR HAND, a collection of her short fiction, is available now from [PANK] Books. THE BOOK OF LANEY, a YA novel, is out now from Lacewing Books.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 8, 2013
“I want to compare the experience of reading these stories to looking at art; you see a glimpse of the artist’s world, and add your personal experiences to come away with an impression of the work as a whole.” – Ann Kingman, Books on the Nightstand
"I AM HOLDING YOUR HAND is a rare treasure. This collection of short stories brought to us by new author Myfanwy Collins is a wonderful example of writing that feels fresh and intoxicating, while maintaining the sensibility of an author who writes like a seasoned pro." -- The Masters Review
Publishers Weekly says of I AM HOLDING YOUR HAND: "Much of the appeal of Collins’s fiction comes from the idiosyncratic way that the longer stories unfold, their lurch from subject to subject challenging convention, but possessing an inner logic that conforms to character. Typically, initially disjointed subjects dovetail to resonant climaxes."
I Am Holding Your Hand is available from PANK: http://www.pankmagazine.com/shop/
And for kindle at amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Am-Holding-Your...
Is there hope within even the darkest hearts?
A woman has sex with her dead mother’s husband. A child sleeps in a makeshift nest. A sister betrays a sister. A woman takes on the persona of a dead prostitute. All are in search of that which eludes them: an acknowledgment of a shared past, the fulfillment of a secret desire, a tenuous connection made whole.
Within I AM HOLDING YOUR HAND an array of tender, stark, authentic, and sometimes very lost souls discover a reason to live through their capacity to see beauty in the everyday and instead of coming to conclusions, they discover a way to begin again.
“Myfanwy Collins doesn’t just have the best name in literature—saying ‘Myfanwy’ is like hosting a party in your mouth—she also has some of the best literature in literature. There aren’t many authors anymore who I love unconditionally. I may enjoy a few of their stories, or I’ll love their last novel but not their new novel. Nobody hits it out of the park every time. Except Myfanwy, who has yet to write anything that doesn’t make me unreasonably happy and thankful that somebody invented words and paper and ink so that these stories could exist. If it was legal for me to marry a work of fiction, then I would be faced with a truly uncomfortable and impossible choice. I’d just have to marry all of the stories in I Am Holding Your Hand, which I guess would make me a polygamist. A fiction polygamist, no less. I’m okay with that.” – Eric Spitznagel, author, journalist, humorist
“Wow! Collins takes hold of the reader’s hand right from the get-go with the hardest integrity and softest touch. With its recovered past of lyrical possibilities and tough truths, this collection of stories—long and short—embodies that desire for something, somewhere. It’s about people splinting apart, binding back together. It’s about a brilliant writer reaching out, pulling you in, leaving you breathless and gasping for more.” – Randall Brown, author of Mad to Live
“I Am Holding Your Hand is a heartfelt collection of deaths: deaths of people, dreams, love, and hope. In this gritty collection, Myfanwy Collins gives voice to characters learning to live on despite such deaths. Characters who often act badly, but who are all the more believable and sympathetic because of their mistakes, failings, and struggles. Myfanwy Collins brings such compassion and tenderness to her stories while never sparing the stark truths. One of her characters tells us, The air was so sparse that our breath whispered back into our mouths to feed us. These stories whispered into me. They fed me.” – Ethel Rohan, author of Hard to Say and Cut Through the Bone
“No writer working today combines the beautiful and the ugly, the transcendent and the devastating, with as much tenderness and candor as Myfanwy Collins. The stories in I Am Holding Your Hand are by turns profound, elemental, heartbreaking. Collins’ voice is fresh and fierce and alive. This is quite simply one of the best short story collections I have read in recent times.” – Kathy Fish, author of Together We Can Bury It and Wild Life
"I AM HOLDING YOUR HAND is a rare treasure. This collection of short stories brought to us by new author Myfanwy Collins is a wonderful example of writing that feels fresh and intoxicating, while maintaining the sensibility of an author who writes like a seasoned pro." -- The Masters Review
Publishers Weekly says of I AM HOLDING YOUR HAND: "Much of the appeal of Collins’s fiction comes from the idiosyncratic way that the longer stories unfold, their lurch from subject to subject challenging convention, but possessing an inner logic that conforms to character. Typically, initially disjointed subjects dovetail to resonant climaxes."
I Am Holding Your Hand is available from PANK: http://www.pankmagazine.com/shop/
And for kindle at amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Am-Holding-Your...
Is there hope within even the darkest hearts?
A woman has sex with her dead mother’s husband. A child sleeps in a makeshift nest. A sister betrays a sister. A woman takes on the persona of a dead prostitute. All are in search of that which eludes them: an acknowledgment of a shared past, the fulfillment of a secret desire, a tenuous connection made whole.
Within I AM HOLDING YOUR HAND an array of tender, stark, authentic, and sometimes very lost souls discover a reason to live through their capacity to see beauty in the everyday and instead of coming to conclusions, they discover a way to begin again.
“Myfanwy Collins doesn’t just have the best name in literature—saying ‘Myfanwy’ is like hosting a party in your mouth—she also has some of the best literature in literature. There aren’t many authors anymore who I love unconditionally. I may enjoy a few of their stories, or I’ll love their last novel but not their new novel. Nobody hits it out of the park every time. Except Myfanwy, who has yet to write anything that doesn’t make me unreasonably happy and thankful that somebody invented words and paper and ink so that these stories could exist. If it was legal for me to marry a work of fiction, then I would be faced with a truly uncomfortable and impossible choice. I’d just have to marry all of the stories in I Am Holding Your Hand, which I guess would make me a polygamist. A fiction polygamist, no less. I’m okay with that.” – Eric Spitznagel, author, journalist, humorist
“Wow! Collins takes hold of the reader’s hand right from the get-go with the hardest integrity and softest touch. With its recovered past of lyrical possibilities and tough truths, this collection of stories—long and short—embodies that desire for something, somewhere. It’s about people splinting apart, binding back together. It’s about a brilliant writer reaching out, pulling you in, leaving you breathless and gasping for more.” – Randall Brown, author of Mad to Live
“I Am Holding Your Hand is a heartfelt collection of deaths: deaths of people, dreams, love, and hope. In this gritty collection, Myfanwy Collins gives voice to characters learning to live on despite such deaths. Characters who often act badly, but who are all the more believable and sympathetic because of their mistakes, failings, and struggles. Myfanwy Collins brings such compassion and tenderness to her stories while never sparing the stark truths. One of her characters tells us, The air was so sparse that our breath whispered back into our mouths to feed us. These stories whispered into me. They fed me.” – Ethel Rohan, author of Hard to Say and Cut Through the Bone
“No writer working today combines the beautiful and the ugly, the transcendent and the devastating, with as much tenderness and candor as Myfanwy Collins. The stories in I Am Holding Your Hand are by turns profound, elemental, heartbreaking. Collins’ voice is fresh and fierce and alive. This is quite simply one of the best short story collections I have read in recent times.” – Kathy Fish, author of Together We Can Bury It and Wild Life
September 12, 2012
No writer working today combines the beautiful and the ugly, the transcendent and the devastating, with as much tenderness and candor as Myfanwy Collins. The stories in I AM HOLDING YOUR HAND are by turns profound, elemental, heartbreaking. Collins' voice is fresh and fierce and alive. This is quite simply one of the best short story collections I have read in recent times.
September 12, 2012
I Am Holding Your Hand is a heartfelt collection of deaths: deaths of people, dreams, love, and hope. In this gritty collection, Myfanwy Collins gives voice to characters learning to live on despite such deaths. Characters who often act badly, but who are all the more believable and sympathetic because of their mistakes, failings, and struggles. Myfanwy Collins brings such compassion and tenderness to her stories while never sparing the stark truths. One of her characters tells us, The air was so sparse that our breath whispered back into our mouths to feed us. These stories whispered into me. They fed me.
June 6, 2013
I've been in love with Myfanwy Collins' writing since reading her mind and heart bending novel, "Echolocation." I've also read many of her blog posts - always fabulous and filled with surprises. Collins has a way of weaving words that is truly unique and those words have swept me away to places that I wish I never had to leave behind. Books made up of connecting or random stories have never been my cup of tea. "I Am Holding Your Hand" has blown my lack of satisfaction with and sense that there was always something missing when reading other story collections to pieces.
I will return to write a review.
I will return to write a review.
February 3, 2013
I adore the way that Collins deftly controls the reader's emotions in the stories in this collection. One moment evokes heartbreaking tenderness and within an instant, stark brutality. The switches are seamless and flow without disruption from one emotion to another, all exactly in line with the story. I read to feel, and this collection definitely can do that job.
Read
September 12, 2012I can't wait to read these stories.
February 22, 2013
This collection won me over from the first story. The stories deal with screaming loneliness, sexual tension, and confused youth. They are easy to read without losing their depth. Looking forward to reading Myfanwy's novel now.
Want to read
September 12, 2012I WANT THIS CAN I HAVE IT NOW
Read
February 3, 2014Review to appear at The Rumpus.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews