Near Strangers

by Marian Crotty

Winner of the 2023 Autumn House Fiction Prize, Near Strangers is a collection of eight tightly crafted short stories filled with unexpected connections and set against the backdrop of everyday life. These stories center on resilient female protagonists and offer a view into queer life in America outside of its major coastal cities. The characters in Marian Crotty’s collection are searching—for understanding, acceptance, or forgiveness. In the title story, an elderly rape crisis volunteer’s advocacy for a survivor leads her to reexamine her role in estrangement from her son; in “Halloween,” a queer teen is counseled through heartbreak by her unlucky-in-love grandmother; and in “Family Resemblance,” a group of families whose children share the same sperm donor is disrupted by the arrival of a minor celebrity. While marginalization, loneliness, and bigotry hover in the distance of Near Strangers, the book’s tone is hopeful and invites readers to reflect on our shared human experience with empathy.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

168 pages, Paperback

Published October 11, 2024

Reviews

[Bela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tompkins librarians never fail me!! Snagged this 5 minutes after they added it to the new release shelf. This book only has 6 reviews right now (all of which are 5 stars) which shocks me because I would think a book of this caliber would come off the press with some publicity.

I would recommend if you are into short stories

[Victoria Keesee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing short story collection! At the end of every story I was wishing they were more, sometimes I even wished it was a whole novel instead of 20 pages. The characters were relatable and the plots were stirring. It was refreshing to read about many forms of queer inner monologues and situations.

[Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shortly after I started volunteering at the queer bookstore at NYC's LGBT Center, I consciously increased my intake of queer lit, leading me to such excellent works as Hilton Als' "My Pinup," Tommy Pico's "Feed," and E.M. Forster's "Maurice." I've been on another queer reading jag lately and one of the standouts is Marian Crotty's collection of short stories, "Near Strangers." So much contemporary gay fiction I've encountered of late has been old, white cis-men telling stories centering old, white cis-men as sexually desirable studs. Crotty isn't coming at her fiction with a similar objective of fantasy manifestation. Her stories are rough reality checks, tales about a queer underclass of women in search of community and love and connection. Not every story centers a lesbian but queer identity surfaces in important ways whether it's in the background (an estranged son's ex-lover in the title story) or among a whole slew of characters (the reuniting female parents of kids who share the same sperm donor in "Family Resemblance"). Because of this queerness seems ubiquitous in a way that's both truthful and real. That's a remarkable accomplishment.

[Meghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful and surprising. These stories are poignant and a joy to read!

[Kayla Tamney · Rating 4 out of 5]

a sweet little collection of stories that has both grit and heart, I enjoyed this very much

[Kate Nachman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the stories being stand alone, but also interconnected and well woven.