What do you think?
One Sun Only: Stories
A stunning collection of stories exploring love and art, luck and loss, from the “invaluable” (George Saunders) author of How to Behave in a Crowd and The Material
A young woman takes stock after the burglary of her apartment. A teenager becomes obsessed with the obituaries in a weekly magazine. Grandchildren mourn the grandparents who loved them and the grandparents who didn’t. Painters and almost-painters try to distinguish Good Art from Bad Art. People grapple with life-altering illness, unrequited love, and promises they have every intention of keeping. Some win the lottery. Others don’t.
In these sinewy, thoughtful stories, celebrated New Yorker contributor Camille Bordas delves into the mysteries of life, death, and all that happens in between. At once darkly funny and poignantly self-aware, Bordas’s writing offers a window into our shared, flawed humanity without insisting on a perfect understanding of our experiences.
With her first collection, which gathers previously unpublished stories alongside work originally featured in The New Yorker and The Paris Review, Bordas cements her reputation as a master of the form.
A young woman takes stock after the burglary of her apartment. A teenager becomes obsessed with the obituaries in a weekly magazine. Grandchildren mourn the grandparents who loved them and the grandparents who didn’t. Painters and almost-painters try to distinguish Good Art from Bad Art. People grapple with life-altering illness, unrequited love, and promises they have every intention of keeping. Some win the lottery. Others don’t.
In these sinewy, thoughtful stories, celebrated New Yorker contributor Camille Bordas delves into the mysteries of life, death, and all that happens in between. At once darkly funny and poignantly self-aware, Bordas’s writing offers a window into our shared, flawed humanity without insisting on a perfect understanding of our experiences.
With her first collection, which gathers previously unpublished stories alongside work originally featured in The New Yorker and The Paris Review, Bordas cements her reputation as a master of the form.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 27, 2026
About the author
Camille Bordas
14 books258 followersCamille Bordas est née à Lyon, en 1987. Elle a passé son enfance au Mexique et vit maintenant à Paris. Elle est étudiante en anthropologie.
En 2009, elle a été remarquée par la critique avec la parution de son premier roman, Les treize desserts, pour lequel elle a reçu la Bourse Thyde Monnier de la SGDL et le Prix du Livre du département du Rhône.
En 2009, elle a été remarquée par la critique avec la parution de son premier roman, Les treize desserts, pour lequel elle a reçu la Bourse Thyde Monnier de la SGDL et le Prix du Livre du département du Rhône.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 141 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Pre-Read Notes: I love short fiction collections and this title appealed.
Final Review
"There are posters of famous, good-looking women over some beds, to give the girls who pinned them courage, Eugene assumes. They go to sleep telling themselves they’ll look like this one day, maybe at the end of camp. In Eugene’s dorm, some boys have taped pictures of the same famous, good-looking women over their beds, and they fall asleep thinking maybe one day they’ll look good enough that a similar girl will like them. It strikes Eugene that no one dreams of boys." p120, "Beyond"
A word about the essays:
1. "One Sun Only" - A story about how family systems absorb grief. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. "Most Die Young" - "A foreign language having a single word to define something that they would need a whole sentence to express in their mother tongue would also be, conversely, a pleasure -giving piece of information. Highly quotable. That’s why everyone knows about Schadenfreude and how the Inuit have forty-something words for snow. That’s why, even though I don’t know much about Japan, I do know that the Japanese have a word for one of my habits, which is to buy books, pile them up, and never read them (tsundoku)." p31 I love a really good story about words. ⭐⭐⭐
3. "The Lottery in Almeria" - Really interesting character development in this one. "Andrés ...wasn’t even mad that the money had gone to ... a guy who’d seemed to have been happy even before winning. He almost felt relieved that it hadn’t been him, that he hadn’t had to explain to anyone that he had no one to spend the money on, really, that he’d never had a wife, children, that his parents had died before he could buy them anything nice, let alone a house, that he was in fact letting his own father’s house crumble over his head." p58 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
4. "The State of Nature" - "Catapult" is the best name for a cat. ⭐⭐⭐.5
5. "The Presentation on Egypt" - A pieces about grief, but a little flat. ⭐⭐.5
6. "Only Orange" - "I knew that she’d been adopted, of course, which made me envious. To be able to look at the people who love you the most and not have to worry that you’ll turn out exactly like them must be amazing, I thought. An endlessly renewable source of relief." p94 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
7. "Beyond" - Mmm...there are issues here. For (one, tiny) example, there would be no raisins in a sugar-free cookie. More generally, the story makes its point on the bones of some awful fat phobic ideas. "Maybe Eugene himself is already dead, Eugene thinks, a ghost. Maybe everyone here is dead and that’s why it’s called Beyond." p108 ⭐.5
8. "Chicago on the Seine" - "The lady at the Chanel counter had made the girl look much older and her mother years younger, enhancing a feeling I’d had before, after staying too long in department stores, that these places were like busted time portals, that time moved differently there. Only the father had come out unchanged." p141 ⭐⭐
9. "Offside Contantly" - It comes at normalizing disability from a weird angle, but I'm there for it. "...[T]his was how Thomas had interpreted his words: being blue eyed in ancient Rome was kind of like having a mullet today, he’d said." p152 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
10. "Understanding the Science" - "She couldn’t understand why such a documentary would exist in the first place, why someone would bother filming idiots displaying their idiocy. There was something aesthetically repulsive about it, wasn’t there? About ridiculing people, amplifying their dumb beliefs, so that upper-middle-class Chicagoans like herself and her friends could feel alarmed and superior." p159 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
11. "Graceless" - "In the changing room, so close to the graceful girls, I feel double ugly. I try not to stare, but I study them, the way they move. I don’t realize yet that a person can’t fake grace. I still think I can learn it." p174 ⭐⭐⭐
12. "Colorin Colorado" - "“Novels always want to simplify,” J. went on. “Here’s another example : because of novels, we pretend to agree people think in whole sentences. She thought, I thought … and then a perfectly shaped observation. But, like, if I’m on a date and I say something stupid, I just want to disappear, right? I don’t actually think the words I want to disappear.”" p185 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Content Notes: grief, loss of loved ones, death, terrorism, bombing, animal neglect, abandonment, euthenasia, animal death, seizure, bullying, fatphobia, dieting, calorie restrictions, group punishment, public shaming,
Thank you to Camille Bordas, Random House, and NetGalley for an accessible digital arc of ONE SUN ONLY. All views are mine.
Final Review
"There are posters of famous, good-looking women over some beds, to give the girls who pinned them courage, Eugene assumes. They go to sleep telling themselves they’ll look like this one day, maybe at the end of camp. In Eugene’s dorm, some boys have taped pictures of the same famous, good-looking women over their beds, and they fall asleep thinking maybe one day they’ll look good enough that a similar girl will like them. It strikes Eugene that no one dreams of boys." p120, "Beyond"
A word about the essays:
1. "One Sun Only" - A story about how family systems absorb grief. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. "Most Die Young" - "A foreign language having a single word to define something that they would need a whole sentence to express in their mother tongue would also be, conversely, a pleasure -giving piece of information. Highly quotable. That’s why everyone knows about Schadenfreude and how the Inuit have forty-something words for snow. That’s why, even though I don’t know much about Japan, I do know that the Japanese have a word for one of my habits, which is to buy books, pile them up, and never read them (tsundoku)." p31 I love a really good story about words. ⭐⭐⭐
3. "The Lottery in Almeria" - Really interesting character development in this one. "Andrés ...wasn’t even mad that the money had gone to ... a guy who’d seemed to have been happy even before winning. He almost felt relieved that it hadn’t been him, that he hadn’t had to explain to anyone that he had no one to spend the money on, really, that he’d never had a wife, children, that his parents had died before he could buy them anything nice, let alone a house, that he was in fact letting his own father’s house crumble over his head." p58 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
4. "The State of Nature" - "Catapult" is the best name for a cat. ⭐⭐⭐.5
5. "The Presentation on Egypt" - A pieces about grief, but a little flat. ⭐⭐.5
6. "Only Orange" - "I knew that she’d been adopted, of course, which made me envious. To be able to look at the people who love you the most and not have to worry that you’ll turn out exactly like them must be amazing, I thought. An endlessly renewable source of relief." p94 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
7. "Beyond" - Mmm...there are issues here. For (one, tiny) example, there would be no raisins in a sugar-free cookie. More generally, the story makes its point on the bones of some awful fat phobic ideas. "Maybe Eugene himself is already dead, Eugene thinks, a ghost. Maybe everyone here is dead and that’s why it’s called Beyond." p108 ⭐.5
8. "Chicago on the Seine" - "The lady at the Chanel counter had made the girl look much older and her mother years younger, enhancing a feeling I’d had before, after staying too long in department stores, that these places were like busted time portals, that time moved differently there. Only the father had come out unchanged." p141 ⭐⭐
9. "Offside Contantly" - It comes at normalizing disability from a weird angle, but I'm there for it. "...[T]his was how Thomas had interpreted his words: being blue eyed in ancient Rome was kind of like having a mullet today, he’d said." p152 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
10. "Understanding the Science" - "She couldn’t understand why such a documentary would exist in the first place, why someone would bother filming idiots displaying their idiocy. There was something aesthetically repulsive about it, wasn’t there? About ridiculing people, amplifying their dumb beliefs, so that upper-middle-class Chicagoans like herself and her friends could feel alarmed and superior." p159 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
11. "Graceless" - "In the changing room, so close to the graceful girls, I feel double ugly. I try not to stare, but I study them, the way they move. I don’t realize yet that a person can’t fake grace. I still think I can learn it." p174 ⭐⭐⭐
12. "Colorin Colorado" - "“Novels always want to simplify,” J. went on. “Here’s another example : because of novels, we pretend to agree people think in whole sentences. She thought, I thought … and then a perfectly shaped observation. But, like, if I’m on a date and I say something stupid, I just want to disappear, right? I don’t actually think the words I want to disappear.”" p185 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Content Notes: grief, loss of loved ones, death, terrorism, bombing, animal neglect, abandonment, euthenasia, animal death, seizure, bullying, fatphobia, dieting, calorie restrictions, group punishment, public shaming,
Thank you to Camille Bordas, Random House, and NetGalley for an accessible digital arc of ONE SUN ONLY. All views are mine.
May 5, 2026
Excellent stories, many of which I initially read or listened to via the New Yorker. Part of the pleasure is wondering where they're going, and the other part is seeing how they arrive at their destination.
December 10, 2025
Every story was very well-written and developed. I appreciated the direct writing style. My favorite story was Beyond. I was laughing out loud while I read it, and honestly would have read another 300 pages of it! I like how every story is relatively simple in terms of plot, but has depth and mild twists that make the story unique. These short stories feel much longer than they are (in a good way) because of the depth to them. You feel like you get to know the characters, their motivations, their perspectives. This was a very good collection and I really enjoyed it.
Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC.
Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC.
Did Not Finish
January 29, 2026I have decided not to finish this book (and will not rate it). I completed almost a third of the book and the stories I read all had the same issue for me: the characters seemed to exist primarily to think about their lives, and a bit about others while obsessing on certain events. But they don’t seem to change or act or even worsen. I needed something to happen. It didn’t. I realize that this collection has garnered some very positive reviews but somehow these stories just don’t seem to be for me. Therefore I decided not to continue. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to try a writer new to me.
April 18, 2026
Short stories set mostly in Almería? Say less.
One Sun Only offers a range of stories that explore the complexity of the human experience through deeply personal and often heavy themes. Grief, adoption, death, and shame are woven throughout the collection, creating moments that feel both intimate and quietly impactful.
Some stories stood out more than others. “Only Orange” was a clear favorite for me, while “Colorín Colorado” brought a sense of familiarity and reflection that lingered after I finished reading.
What I appreciated most is how these stories don’t necessarily aim for neat resolutions. Instead, they focus on the journey, on capturing moments, emotions, and the in between spaces of life that don’t always have clear answers.
If this collection is a reflection of Camille Bordas’s writing, I’m definitely interested in exploring more of her work.
I would recommend this to readers who enjoy character driven short stories and are open to sitting with heavier themes without needing everything tied up perfectly.
One Sun Only offers a range of stories that explore the complexity of the human experience through deeply personal and often heavy themes. Grief, adoption, death, and shame are woven throughout the collection, creating moments that feel both intimate and quietly impactful.
Some stories stood out more than others. “Only Orange” was a clear favorite for me, while “Colorín Colorado” brought a sense of familiarity and reflection that lingered after I finished reading.
What I appreciated most is how these stories don’t necessarily aim for neat resolutions. Instead, they focus on the journey, on capturing moments, emotions, and the in between spaces of life that don’t always have clear answers.
If this collection is a reflection of Camille Bordas’s writing, I’m definitely interested in exploring more of her work.
I would recommend this to readers who enjoy character driven short stories and are open to sitting with heavier themes without needing everything tied up perfectly.
February 8, 2026
Camille Bordas really does have a way with words.
I love a collection of short stories and this one I enjoyed reading. I will say, some of the stories were really good and the other fell flat but overall enjoyable.
I love a collection of short stories and this one I enjoyed reading. I will say, some of the stories were really good and the other fell flat but overall enjoyable.
August 22, 2026
I’m not usually a short story gal but every single one of these was 11/10. Will be tuning in to her other books asap
November 8, 2025
this is a collection of introspective, emotionally perceptive short stories that felt refreshingly different from most collections i’ve read recently. camille bordas writes with a calm, observant tone that lingers on the small shifts, disappointments, realisations, and quiet absurdities that shape a life. there’s no dramatic twist or shock factor here; but rather, the power comes from human thought, memory, and self-awareness.
the stories explore different ways people try to make meaning out of ordinary experiences. almost every story offered something to take away, which is rare for me when it comes to short story collections. my personal standouts were One Sun Only, Most Die Young, The Lottery in Almería, Chicago on the Seine, Offside Constantly, and Understanding the Science.
if you enjoy character-driven, reflective storytelling that feels truthful, this is a gorgeous, quietly powerful read. it's the kind that sits with you afterwards, even if nothing shocking happens.
-------
to-read:
how to distinguish good art from bad art? this amateur who works in an art museum is dying to know.
*thank you to Random House for the ARC*
the stories explore different ways people try to make meaning out of ordinary experiences. almost every story offered something to take away, which is rare for me when it comes to short story collections. my personal standouts were One Sun Only, Most Die Young, The Lottery in Almería, Chicago on the Seine, Offside Constantly, and Understanding the Science.
if you enjoy character-driven, reflective storytelling that feels truthful, this is a gorgeous, quietly powerful read. it's the kind that sits with you afterwards, even if nothing shocking happens.
-------
to-read:
how to distinguish good art from bad art? this amateur who works in an art museum is dying to know.
*thank you to Random House for the ARC*
November 29, 2025
4 stars
I read short stories frequently and teach them constantly. I have a strong appreciation for the genre and for convincing reluctant readers that they should give a short story a chance here and there. Since I find increasingly that modern readers are not really digging into this genre as much, I'll start by noting that folks who enjoy the genre will find a lot to like here. The same is true for novice short story readers, but they should approach the collection with expectations that meet the genre, not with the idea that this will be just like reading a novel but faster.
Bordas has a direct style that I find approachable and connected to conditions and circumstances that many readers will relate to. These stories are not particularly esoteric, drenched in ultra 'literary' symbolism, or confined to individuals with very niche experiences. The focus is on elements of the human condition, and the overarching style, for me, tends toward understated. Since the very first entry begins with a reference to one of my all-time favorite short stories, I bought in almost instantly. This is a solid collection, and it's one I'd consider pulling examples from for teaching purposes (really a high compliment in my world). Minimally, I'll recommend the collection to students who are looking for approachable, modern examples of the genre.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and Will Lyman at Random House, Hogarth, and Dial for this widget, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I read short stories frequently and teach them constantly. I have a strong appreciation for the genre and for convincing reluctant readers that they should give a short story a chance here and there. Since I find increasingly that modern readers are not really digging into this genre as much, I'll start by noting that folks who enjoy the genre will find a lot to like here. The same is true for novice short story readers, but they should approach the collection with expectations that meet the genre, not with the idea that this will be just like reading a novel but faster.
Bordas has a direct style that I find approachable and connected to conditions and circumstances that many readers will relate to. These stories are not particularly esoteric, drenched in ultra 'literary' symbolism, or confined to individuals with very niche experiences. The focus is on elements of the human condition, and the overarching style, for me, tends toward understated. Since the very first entry begins with a reference to one of my all-time favorite short stories, I bought in almost instantly. This is a solid collection, and it's one I'd consider pulling examples from for teaching purposes (really a high compliment in my world). Minimally, I'll recommend the collection to students who are looking for approachable, modern examples of the genre.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and Will Lyman at Random House, Hogarth, and Dial for this widget, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
January 22, 2026
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.
🌞 preface
I am a lover of short fiction. I recently read three short story collections and an anthology, but One Sun Only blew those other books out of the water. I was actually really scared to get to this collection, thinking I was just going to be burnt out from my previous short fiction reads, but nope—this book gave me hope!
🌞 feeling seen
The way I have reviewed short story collections in the past has been to rate each individual story and then take the average rating for the whole book. I did do that, and I was giving every story a 4 or 4.5, with the exception of one story, Chicago on the Seine, which was my least favorite—that one got a 3 star from me. But the last story...I gave the last story, Colorín Colorado, 5 stars. The last story made me reevaluate the entire book. Things got a little meta, and it's as if Bordas could read my mind, because she addressed the reason I was hesitant to give 10/12 stories 5 stars. I won't mention this detail, because I wouldn't want to put anyone off to reading this with fresh eyes, but let's just say this was a common thread throughout Borda's stories—it really felt like she was catering these stories for me. Like she was speaking directly to me, as if she knew me. That sounds dramatic, but it's the biggest reason as to why I really enjoyed being inside each of these 12 stories. Each story felt so insanely human that I began to ask myself if any of the books I have read recently had managed to capture our essence so effortlessly. Obviously, I don't actually think Bordas and I are the same person that she therefore managed to speak to me in such an intimate way. No, I think most (if not all) will resonate with the meek, but no less glorious, humanness Bordas has sewn into the text.
🌞 mirror, mirror...
“Every man carries with him through life a mirror, as unique and impossible to get rid of as his shadow.” - W.H. Auden
As I mentioned, this book got meta, even before the last story. There was something so aware about all of Borda's characters—like they knew someone was reading their story. All the characters felt in control of the narrative, holding up a mirror, unabashed. Pointing at their reflections, showing us what made them unique, and at the same time, showing us why they are, indeed, me and you, and him, and her—us.
I could not recommend this book enough! I am thinking of purchasing a physical copy for myself just to own and read again someday. Camille Bordas is a talent I want to read more from.
🌞 preface
I am a lover of short fiction. I recently read three short story collections and an anthology, but One Sun Only blew those other books out of the water. I was actually really scared to get to this collection, thinking I was just going to be burnt out from my previous short fiction reads, but nope—this book gave me hope!
🌞 feeling seen
The way I have reviewed short story collections in the past has been to rate each individual story and then take the average rating for the whole book. I did do that, and I was giving every story a 4 or 4.5, with the exception of one story, Chicago on the Seine, which was my least favorite—that one got a 3 star from me. But the last story...I gave the last story, Colorín Colorado, 5 stars. The last story made me reevaluate the entire book. Things got a little meta, and it's as if Bordas could read my mind, because she addressed the reason I was hesitant to give 10/12 stories 5 stars. I won't mention this detail, because I wouldn't want to put anyone off to reading this with fresh eyes, but let's just say this was a common thread throughout Borda's stories—it really felt like she was catering these stories for me. Like she was speaking directly to me, as if she knew me. That sounds dramatic, but it's the biggest reason as to why I really enjoyed being inside each of these 12 stories. Each story felt so insanely human that I began to ask myself if any of the books I have read recently had managed to capture our essence so effortlessly. Obviously, I don't actually think Bordas and I are the same person that she therefore managed to speak to me in such an intimate way. No, I think most (if not all) will resonate with the meek, but no less glorious, humanness Bordas has sewn into the text.
🌞 mirror, mirror...
“Every man carries with him through life a mirror, as unique and impossible to get rid of as his shadow.” - W.H. Auden
As I mentioned, this book got meta, even before the last story. There was something so aware about all of Borda's characters—like they knew someone was reading their story. All the characters felt in control of the narrative, holding up a mirror, unabashed. Pointing at their reflections, showing us what made them unique, and at the same time, showing us why they are, indeed, me and you, and him, and her—us.
I could not recommend this book enough! I am thinking of purchasing a physical copy for myself just to own and read again someday. Camille Bordas is a talent I want to read more from.
January 27, 2026
Each story is a gem, and once again I'll repeat -- a collection of well written short stories is more challenging than a novel of equal length, especially one as richly developed as this. My only reservation is that the stories just end Like that. Abruptly with no warning, each and every one of them. At first I thought there were pages missing, that the story I was reading surely had more to give me. But, no. That is Bordas's style, her quirk. It emphasizes the fact that you are peering into these lives for a specific time and then you are gone.
Want to Read
August 13, 2025oh this cover... she's gorgeous
June 1, 2026
mixed feelings here, and a warning to the “it’s not that deep” crowd that you won’t like this very overarching review. some great dialogue, prose, and narrative architecture here. stories are quite dry and witty. characters are realized: their conflicts and struggles are largely pathetic, or so immutable that their owners focus their efforts on ancillary non-issues because they can’t bear to confront and accept reality. painfully, pitifully human stories about seeking meaning in a world that seems meaningless.
but all of these stories made me feel a mundane and utterly useless despair. they share a nihilistic fatalism that’s a hallmark of the supercilious white liberal elite: what can you do in the face of all the sheer stupidity surrounding you but throw up your hands and simply disengage?
the collection’s smug disdain (tonally just “life itself is beneath me!”) reads like an insult when i consider that the struggles of the marginalized have been far from mundane, and the marginalized have been able to carry on for generations by embracing a more radical vision for the future.
many moments in the collection appealed to me, but they resonated with a part of myself that i dislike: namely, my resignation to my own distaste for humanity, which ultimately encourages loneliness and leaves no space for community, for mutual trust and care. the best in me believes i can be a better person tomorrow than i am today, and so can everyone else. so while i’m cognizant that these stories reflect life as I often see it, I fundamentally reject them.
when i finished this book my main takeaway was: what’s the point? why bother? to me, art should at least attempt to answer these questions. when a writer documents a pathetic world but offers no salve, no antidote to that emptiness, the work itself becomes pathetic, and unpardonable.
but all of these stories made me feel a mundane and utterly useless despair. they share a nihilistic fatalism that’s a hallmark of the supercilious white liberal elite: what can you do in the face of all the sheer stupidity surrounding you but throw up your hands and simply disengage?
the collection’s smug disdain (tonally just “life itself is beneath me!”) reads like an insult when i consider that the struggles of the marginalized have been far from mundane, and the marginalized have been able to carry on for generations by embracing a more radical vision for the future.
many moments in the collection appealed to me, but they resonated with a part of myself that i dislike: namely, my resignation to my own distaste for humanity, which ultimately encourages loneliness and leaves no space for community, for mutual trust and care. the best in me believes i can be a better person tomorrow than i am today, and so can everyone else. so while i’m cognizant that these stories reflect life as I often see it, I fundamentally reject them.
when i finished this book my main takeaway was: what’s the point? why bother? to me, art should at least attempt to answer these questions. when a writer documents a pathetic world but offers no salve, no antidote to that emptiness, the work itself becomes pathetic, and unpardonable.
April 3, 2026
thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced digital copy!
--
i picked up camille bordas's one sun only because i love a good short story collection that feels human and observant, without trying too hard to shock you. this delivered exactly that. these are quiet, introspective stories about love, art, luck, and loss, told with a calm, precise voice that gets under your skin in the best way.
the stories are deceptively simple. there's a woman takes stock after a burglary, a man reflects on not winning the lottery, grandchildren grieve grandparents. but bordas has this knack for finding the subtle twist or the small, resonant detail that makes each one feel complete and lived-in. my favorites were "one sun only," a beautiful look at how families absorb grief; "the lottery in almería," which had a really tender, lonely character study; and "offside constantly," which approaches disability and normalcy from such a fresh, funny angle. i also loved the meta commentary in "colorin colorado" about how novels pretend people think in perfect sentences.
the writing is direct and unadorned, which i appreciated. it never feels pretentious or overly "literary." it just feels true. that said, not every story landed for me. "beyond," set in a weight-loss camp, had some fatphobic ideas that rubbed me the wrong way, and a couple others felt a little flat. but in a collection of twelve, that's bound to happen.
overall, this is a really solid, thoughtful collection. it doesn't rely on big plot twists or dramatic reveals; its power comes from its emotional perceptiveness and its willingness to sit with ordinary human disappointment and small epiphanies. if you like character-driven stories that linger after you finish them, this is well worth your time. a quiet, four-star read.
--
i picked up camille bordas's one sun only because i love a good short story collection that feels human and observant, without trying too hard to shock you. this delivered exactly that. these are quiet, introspective stories about love, art, luck, and loss, told with a calm, precise voice that gets under your skin in the best way.
the stories are deceptively simple. there's a woman takes stock after a burglary, a man reflects on not winning the lottery, grandchildren grieve grandparents. but bordas has this knack for finding the subtle twist or the small, resonant detail that makes each one feel complete and lived-in. my favorites were "one sun only," a beautiful look at how families absorb grief; "the lottery in almería," which had a really tender, lonely character study; and "offside constantly," which approaches disability and normalcy from such a fresh, funny angle. i also loved the meta commentary in "colorin colorado" about how novels pretend people think in perfect sentences.
the writing is direct and unadorned, which i appreciated. it never feels pretentious or overly "literary." it just feels true. that said, not every story landed for me. "beyond," set in a weight-loss camp, had some fatphobic ideas that rubbed me the wrong way, and a couple others felt a little flat. but in a collection of twelve, that's bound to happen.
overall, this is a really solid, thoughtful collection. it doesn't rely on big plot twists or dramatic reveals; its power comes from its emotional perceptiveness and its willingness to sit with ordinary human disappointment and small epiphanies. if you like character-driven stories that linger after you finish them, this is well worth your time. a quiet, four-star read.
September 2, 2026
When I found out a lot of these had been published in the New Yorker I was not surprised (said with love).
3.5 rounded up to 4. I really loved some of these (most die young, the presentation on Egypt, beyond). This is not a book for people who need a plot. I loved the mix of narrators in these stories, and I feel like fiction narrated by children often annoys me but most of these worked. I was also afraid the last semi meta fictional story would really rub me the wrong way, but it ended up winning me over.
However, some of these fell sort of flat, and ended so abruptly I thought I missed a page. I love an ambiguous ending but it was a bit much even for me.
3.5 rounded up to 4. I really loved some of these (most die young, the presentation on Egypt, beyond). This is not a book for people who need a plot. I loved the mix of narrators in these stories, and I feel like fiction narrated by children often annoys me but most of these worked. I was also afraid the last semi meta fictional story would really rub me the wrong way, but it ended up winning me over.
However, some of these fell sort of flat, and ended so abruptly I thought I missed a page. I love an ambiguous ending but it was a bit much even for me.
September 4, 2026
Really great writing—clever, intelligent, wryly humorous (even though the stories themselves for the most part deal with rather unfunny situations). Don’t expect a whole lot of action, nor any sense of resolution—these are slices of life (often muddled, interpersonally complicated, and slightly downbeat) rather than tidy plot-driven pieces with a defined beginning, middle, and end.
April 14, 2026
*3.5 stars; I liked some of these stories and some of them I just didn’t understand. I’ve always struggled quite a bit with short stories because I find them very hard to “get into” in a way that I find really impactful, and unfortunately I feel like a lot of these were relatively simple in terms of plot and fell a bit flat for me
December 24, 2025
I enjoyed this story collection. A lot of slice of life moments that had me wishing there was more resolution to each tale. Just as I was getting settled in with the characters the story ended. It’s amazing that such a short piece can leave such a lasting impact and it had me thinking about the characters long after I finished.
Thank you for the advanced reader copy Netgalley and Random House.
Thank you for the advanced reader copy Netgalley and Random House.
December 17, 2025
Camille Bordas has been a regular contributor to the New Yorker (and several other similarly regarded publications) for quite a few years. If you're already a fan of hers, you'll be pleased with this collection of her short stories. You may have read a few of them before, as most have appeared in previous issues of The New Yorker or The Paris Review.
Mostly similar in length, the short stories in Bordas' One Sun Only: Stories are very singularly her own voice. I wasn't familiar with her writing before this collection, but as soon as I started the second story, it was clear Bordas has a distinct style. The risk you run with a distinct voice is that it isn't always for everyone. In this case, I fall into that category.
At first, there was something captivating about the normalcy of Bordas' stories. Each is a small slice of a someone's day, entrenched in a specific situation and blooming outward to encompass a few additional characters. As soon as I'd find myself investing in the characters, Bordas seemed to have moved on. Rather than being a result of the short story format, this seemed to be a stylistic choice. Bordas even addresses this in Colorín Colorado, where a student criticizes a professor's writing for its lack of plot.
I love experimental writing, but rather than diving into an experiment, Bordas' collection just dips in a toe and backs off before finding out what might happen.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Mostly similar in length, the short stories in Bordas' One Sun Only: Stories are very singularly her own voice. I wasn't familiar with her writing before this collection, but as soon as I started the second story, it was clear Bordas has a distinct style. The risk you run with a distinct voice is that it isn't always for everyone. In this case, I fall into that category.
At first, there was something captivating about the normalcy of Bordas' stories. Each is a small slice of a someone's day, entrenched in a specific situation and blooming outward to encompass a few additional characters. As soon as I'd find myself investing in the characters, Bordas seemed to have moved on. Rather than being a result of the short story format, this seemed to be a stylistic choice. Bordas even addresses this in Colorín Colorado, where a student criticizes a professor's writing for its lack of plot.
I love experimental writing, but rather than diving into an experiment, Bordas' collection just dips in a toe and backs off before finding out what might happen.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
August 19, 2026
Damn, what the hell. I’m so surprised by how much I enjoyed this. Such a solid collection of short stories, I didn’t dislike any of them.
I’ve been in the middle of probably a dozen books in the past few days, jumping between them because none of them were keeping my attention. Then I got this book from my library on a whim, mostly because I like the cover. I had no idea what it was about, just started reading. The stories feel slice-of-life, which I don’t always like, but these were so interesting to me. They’re like reading snippets of real people’s lives. But, heads up, they don’t have “bang” endings. They just kind of end. Which I liked for reasons I can’t explain. And if you need plot to enjoy something, you probably want to skip this one.
I think the theme connecting the stories is death, so also skip it if you aren’t looking for something like that.
Stories rated individually below. I mostly wrote little things that will help me remember what they were about if I read this review later.
- One Sun Only: 5 stars. A divorced father and his two children, art and death at the center. So simple, so good.
- Most Die Young: 4 stars. Anxiety group, attack.
- The Lottery in Almeria: 4 stars. Conversation book writer. Lottery addict.
- The State of Nature: 4.5 stars. Eye doctor. Love the conversations with her mom and the prepper patient.
- The Presentation of Egypt: 5 stars. Braindead man, husband hang’s himself. Wife keeps it a secret so her daughter’s school presentation goes well. I’m starting to see a lot of things in common with these stories. This one has the lottery in it, and a few of them have mentioned apocalyptic events and preparing for disasters.
- Only Orange: 5 stars. Brother’s new girlfriend is colorblind and adopted. Narrator has the kind of petty realness I love to read about in an unlikable character.
- Beyond: 3.5 stars. Fat Camp. Kid whose grandfather died. Not as intriguing as the other stories, and I feel like the writing was a little different. I had a hard time pinning down how old these kids were. The connection in this one is that they watch Grease, which is in the Only Orange story too. I like the little breadcrumbs. Also, there’s one small part I like where Eugene is in the girls’ cabins and sees they have taped up pictures of thin, beautiful women, to inspire them that they will look like that one day, and he notes that the boys’ cabin has the same pictures of beautiful women taped up above the beds, thinking that when they lose weight, women like that will date them. “It strikes Eugene that no one dreams of boys.”
- Chicago on the Seine: 3.5 stars. Man works at embassy. Breakup. Mom died when he was 10. Relationship with his father and movies. Morgue. Ghosts. I like the part where he talks with Ava’s dead body.
- Offside Constantly: 4.5 stars. Relatable. Girl has a mysterious illness. She’s interested in diseases/illnesses/medical mysteries. Wants a name for what she has. Her brother died a few months before. I like how the title comes into the story. “I realized people die all the time, every second, everywhere. After that, I started seeing death everywhere. It was like when you’re taught what offside means in soccer. Once you understand the rule, you see it nonstop and call offside constantly.”
- Understanding the Science: 4 stars. Women in their 40s, one had mastectomy. Conspiracy theories. Conversation with famous guy. I found this one to be very interesting, I didn’t want to stop reading, even though not much happens. One part I really liked is when they’re talking about flat earthers, and what the point is. “Where’s the promise in a flat Earth? I’m serious, who would feel better if we were to suddenly find out the Earth is indeed flat?” And someone else says. “The hope is to discover everyone has been lying to you. Which then gives you an explanation as to why your life sucks. The hope is to put the blame on someone else.”
- Graceless: 3 stars. Grandmother, Catholics, father dies, discussion with sister about dance lessons. “What a useless quality. When has grace ever helped anyone?”
- Colorin Colorado: 3.5 stars. Journalist interviews big chef, then quits, never prints the interview, and moves back to Chicago. She remains obsessed with the chef and secretly watches him and her old student Addie on YouTube. “I felt betrayed by my computer. That it would so casually let my husband know how much research I’d been doing on [Addie] these last few days. Computers know too much about us, of course. I understand that certain people find comfort in that. But it’s hard for me not to think of the machines as intently trying to shame us, the way they give other people glimpses of our search histories, or allow family vacation photos to slip into PowerPoint presentations.” Another one with suicide in it, and then another death. This is the only story that felt too long. Like it should have either been shortened or drawn out and made into a short novel. It felt like it could be semi-autobiographical, especially the stuff about her having trouble writing stories with plot. I think these stories are pretty low on plot.
I’ve been in the middle of probably a dozen books in the past few days, jumping between them because none of them were keeping my attention. Then I got this book from my library on a whim, mostly because I like the cover. I had no idea what it was about, just started reading. The stories feel slice-of-life, which I don’t always like, but these were so interesting to me. They’re like reading snippets of real people’s lives. But, heads up, they don’t have “bang” endings. They just kind of end. Which I liked for reasons I can’t explain. And if you need plot to enjoy something, you probably want to skip this one.
I think the theme connecting the stories is death, so also skip it if you aren’t looking for something like that.
Stories rated individually below. I mostly wrote little things that will help me remember what they were about if I read this review later.
- One Sun Only: 5 stars. A divorced father and his two children, art and death at the center. So simple, so good.
- Most Die Young: 4 stars. Anxiety group, attack.
- The Lottery in Almeria: 4 stars. Conversation book writer. Lottery addict.
- The State of Nature: 4.5 stars. Eye doctor. Love the conversations with her mom and the prepper patient.
- The Presentation of Egypt: 5 stars. Braindead man, husband hang’s himself. Wife keeps it a secret so her daughter’s school presentation goes well. I’m starting to see a lot of things in common with these stories. This one has the lottery in it, and a few of them have mentioned apocalyptic events and preparing for disasters.
- Only Orange: 5 stars. Brother’s new girlfriend is colorblind and adopted. Narrator has the kind of petty realness I love to read about in an unlikable character.
- Beyond: 3.5 stars. Fat Camp. Kid whose grandfather died. Not as intriguing as the other stories, and I feel like the writing was a little different. I had a hard time pinning down how old these kids were. The connection in this one is that they watch Grease, which is in the Only Orange story too. I like the little breadcrumbs. Also, there’s one small part I like where Eugene is in the girls’ cabins and sees they have taped up pictures of thin, beautiful women, to inspire them that they will look like that one day, and he notes that the boys’ cabin has the same pictures of beautiful women taped up above the beds, thinking that when they lose weight, women like that will date them. “It strikes Eugene that no one dreams of boys.”
- Chicago on the Seine: 3.5 stars. Man works at embassy. Breakup. Mom died when he was 10. Relationship with his father and movies. Morgue. Ghosts. I like the part where he talks with Ava’s dead body.
- Offside Constantly: 4.5 stars. Relatable. Girl has a mysterious illness. She’s interested in diseases/illnesses/medical mysteries. Wants a name for what she has. Her brother died a few months before. I like how the title comes into the story. “I realized people die all the time, every second, everywhere. After that, I started seeing death everywhere. It was like when you’re taught what offside means in soccer. Once you understand the rule, you see it nonstop and call offside constantly.”
- Understanding the Science: 4 stars. Women in their 40s, one had mastectomy. Conspiracy theories. Conversation with famous guy. I found this one to be very interesting, I didn’t want to stop reading, even though not much happens. One part I really liked is when they’re talking about flat earthers, and what the point is. “Where’s the promise in a flat Earth? I’m serious, who would feel better if we were to suddenly find out the Earth is indeed flat?” And someone else says. “The hope is to discover everyone has been lying to you. Which then gives you an explanation as to why your life sucks. The hope is to put the blame on someone else.”
- Graceless: 3 stars. Grandmother, Catholics, father dies, discussion with sister about dance lessons. “What a useless quality. When has grace ever helped anyone?”
- Colorin Colorado: 3.5 stars. Journalist interviews big chef, then quits, never prints the interview, and moves back to Chicago. She remains obsessed with the chef and secretly watches him and her old student Addie on YouTube. “I felt betrayed by my computer. That it would so casually let my husband know how much research I’d been doing on [Addie] these last few days. Computers know too much about us, of course. I understand that certain people find comfort in that. But it’s hard for me not to think of the machines as intently trying to shame us, the way they give other people glimpses of our search histories, or allow family vacation photos to slip into PowerPoint presentations.” Another one with suicide in it, and then another death. This is the only story that felt too long. Like it should have either been shortened or drawn out and made into a short novel. It felt like it could be semi-autobiographical, especially the stuff about her having trouble writing stories with plot. I think these stories are pretty low on plot.
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January 16, 2026A quiet exploration of the everyday.
One Sun Only is collection of 12 character-driven, reflective short stories that find beauty in the most unexpected places.
Camille Bordas writes with a direct and relatable, capturing the magic within the quotidian minutiae of life. Each story lingers on the quiet absurdities we often dismiss or forget in the daily struggle to keep moving forward.
If you enjoy contemporary fiction for its subtle portrayals of human existence, you will find alot to love here. These stories are largely plotless and meandering, choosing instead to focus on the deeply internal lives of the characters. It is the kind of writing that doesn't shout to get your attention, it simply observes.
While the entire collection is cohesive, a few stories stayed with me long after I finished:
One Sun Only
Only Orange
Colorin Colorado
This is a gorgeous read for anyone who appreciates a "slice of life" style that feels grounded and slightly hypnotic.
Expected publication date: Jan 27, 2026
Thank you to Random House for providing an advanced reader's copy of One Sun Only
One Sun Only is collection of 12 character-driven, reflective short stories that find beauty in the most unexpected places.
Camille Bordas writes with a direct and relatable, capturing the magic within the quotidian minutiae of life. Each story lingers on the quiet absurdities we often dismiss or forget in the daily struggle to keep moving forward.
If you enjoy contemporary fiction for its subtle portrayals of human existence, you will find alot to love here. These stories are largely plotless and meandering, choosing instead to focus on the deeply internal lives of the characters. It is the kind of writing that doesn't shout to get your attention, it simply observes.
While the entire collection is cohesive, a few stories stayed with me long after I finished:
One Sun Only
Only Orange
Colorin Colorado
This is a gorgeous read for anyone who appreciates a "slice of life" style that feels grounded and slightly hypnotic.
Expected publication date: Jan 27, 2026
Thank you to Random House for providing an advanced reader's copy of One Sun Only
April 17, 2026
!!!!!!!!!!!!
this is the best short story collection I have read in a very long time, they’re basically ALL bangers except maybe 2 and even then those were still very good. I was actually sad every single time one ended because in just a dozen pages the author is capable of building up characters that are funny & human or interesting and you just wanna read more and more and more about them, like I could have actually read an entire NOVEL based on each shot story and enjoyed it BUT the short stories were also fantastic because they said so much in so little, they don’t NEED a novel I just want one because I’m greedy and I absolutely loved the characters, also I’m kinda obsessed with the author, how she writes about France and the US, I can’t tell if she’s written then in French originally or English, I think English but anyways goals, and also her writing is just fantastic? Like she’s objectively just a really fucking good writer with an amazing voice okay I’m fan girling at this point but how could I not?
this is the best short story collection I have read in a very long time, they’re basically ALL bangers except maybe 2 and even then those were still very good. I was actually sad every single time one ended because in just a dozen pages the author is capable of building up characters that are funny & human or interesting and you just wanna read more and more and more about them, like I could have actually read an entire NOVEL based on each shot story and enjoyed it BUT the short stories were also fantastic because they said so much in so little, they don’t NEED a novel I just want one because I’m greedy and I absolutely loved the characters, also I’m kinda obsessed with the author, how she writes about France and the US, I can’t tell if she’s written then in French originally or English, I think English but anyways goals, and also her writing is just fantastic? Like she’s objectively just a really fucking good writer with an amazing voice okay I’m fan girling at this point but how could I not?
June 10, 2026
I am not particularly interested in short stories. That being said, I now want to read everything that Camille Bordas has ever written. I was completely and effortlessly engaged with every single story in this collection, something that does not come naturally to me. I picked this up on a whim, and wow was it a most wonderful whim.
March 9, 2026
It’s rare for a short story collection to engage me like this one did, but (almost) every story felt filled with real people with stories that mattered to them. I wasn’t a huge fan of Graceless, but every other story had a clear message and some strong sentence writing.
March 25, 2026
This was a real pleasure to read. I never really wanted to put it down. Once you hit A Presentation on Egypt, though, it becomes apparent that that story is the sun around which all of the others orbit. It's the emotional and technical apex of the book and none of the others really come close.
April 23, 2026
Read the whole back half of this while I was waiting at the body shop! Woohoo!
Really quite bleak, but lots of refreshingly honest looks at all the different parts of being human—lots of it is messy and doesn’t make sense, which I appreciate that Bordas doesn’t shy away from. Good stuff.
Really quite bleak, but lots of refreshingly honest looks at all the different parts of being human—lots of it is messy and doesn’t make sense, which I appreciate that Bordas doesn’t shy away from. Good stuff.
August 2, 2026
Maybe even 4.5 stars. I got lost in the writing and actually felt that each story was interesting enough and developed enough to expand to entire novels. Not tons of plot here (which she sort of makes fun of in her last story), just well-written stories.
August 23, 2026
4 1/2 stars. I’m not usually a fan of short stories, but this is excellent. Interesting characters in each story- many dealing with psychological issues and bonus - the writer is from Chicago. I added it to my list only because it was on Obama’s summer reads and I’m glad I did.
March 24, 2026
Loved it
April 5, 2026
ugh I love her
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