Elsewhere: Stories from Small Town Europe

Reading the City: A City in Short Fiction

by Maria Crossan (Editor), Gyrðir Elíasson, Mirja Unge

Challenging the preconceptions of the hypothetical “small town,” this collection of short stories vividly portrays a variety of imaginative characters. In Germany, a house-husband is slowly sent over the edge by his over-achieving neighbors. In the Norwegian town of Odda, a middle-aged Morrissey fan has a matter of hours to find a girlfriend so his ailing mother can die in peace. On a broad European canvas, these diverse tales paint a tightly knit community in a positive light. Centering on gestures such as white lies, indifference, small kindnesses, and secrets, this intriguing anthology is sure to fascinate and entertain.

152 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 7, 2007

Reviews

[Reshma Jannath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting collection of stories from European small towns.

[Chris]

A collection of short stories by lesser known writers. I was interested in the Tokarczuk story, which was complex and humanistic. Most of the stories here were engaging, though I got the sense that the authors, or their efforts published here, were “new”, or experimenting. None of the stories read as tightly-honed. Mirja Unge’s story, “It was Just, Yesterday” because of it’s subject matter, drew a power from it’s ambling, circuitous style. Perhaps there was an idea governing the selection of stories that small towns are where stories reveal themselves in hints, partial truths, the knowing glance and the unspoken?