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The Grand Scheme of Things
The Grand Scheme of Things: stories
"I devoured these brilliant stories, each of which illuminates the glimmering mystery of everyday life. We have all been here - puzzling through loss, navigating love, dancing always, always, against eternity - yet Cedeño's wisdom makes it all new. I read this collection ever more grateful for a true storyteller's insight, generosity, and companionship along this journey of ours; and I highly recommend that you also give yourself that all too rare gift."
Robin Black, author, If I loved you, I would tell you this
"The Grand Scheme of Things, this bold new collection by Sarah Cedeño, exquisitely traces its characters’ profound inhibitions toward their heartbreaking causes. To read these stories is to be gripped by an uncanny sense of recognition. Cedeño is a beautiful writer."
John McManus, author, Fox Tooth Heart
The Grand Scheme of Things
In Bridgeport, a fictional college town in western New York, the residents of The Grand Scheme of Things work against limitations. Through illness, infidelities, parenting, connection, and triumph, these characters and their friends, lovers, and children fight for themselves and each other through tragic, curious, or surreal circumstances.
In “Orient Express,” a widow attempts to wrestle her daughter from the Unification Church after her husband’s death, and discovers her own unsettling desire in the process.
In “The Wash,” when a woman’s son is drowned by a dog in the Erie Canal, she finds comfort in the most surprising place.
In “You Hear Night Sounds,” a college student inherits a pet turkey from his late father, the only one to hear his disturbing confession.
The novella “Cold Storage,” set against the backdrop of campus Vietnam
protests in 1971, portrays teenaged June as she leaves St. Barnabas Home for Unwed Mothers and considers returning to college, but arrives home to find her parents divorcing and her mother unrecognizably ill.
Though the village in The Grand Scheme of Things is small, what unravels has universal, historic, and lasting implications. These are stories of protest and growth, of loss and surrender, of acceptance and compromise.
"I devoured these brilliant stories, each of which illuminates the glimmering mystery of everyday life. We have all been here - puzzling through loss, navigating love, dancing always, always, against eternity - yet Cedeño's wisdom makes it all new. I read this collection ever more grateful for a true storyteller's insight, generosity, and companionship along this journey of ours; and I highly recommend that you also give yourself that all too rare gift."
Robin Black, author, If I loved you, I would tell you this
"The Grand Scheme of Things, this bold new collection by Sarah Cedeño, exquisitely traces its characters’ profound inhibitions toward their heartbreaking causes. To read these stories is to be gripped by an uncanny sense of recognition. Cedeño is a beautiful writer."
John McManus, author, Fox Tooth Heart
The Grand Scheme of Things
In Bridgeport, a fictional college town in western New York, the residents of The Grand Scheme of Things work against limitations. Through illness, infidelities, parenting, connection, and triumph, these characters and their friends, lovers, and children fight for themselves and each other through tragic, curious, or surreal circumstances.
In “Orient Express,” a widow attempts to wrestle her daughter from the Unification Church after her husband’s death, and discovers her own unsettling desire in the process.
In “The Wash,” when a woman’s son is drowned by a dog in the Erie Canal, she finds comfort in the most surprising place.
In “You Hear Night Sounds,” a college student inherits a pet turkey from his late father, the only one to hear his disturbing confession.
The novella “Cold Storage,” set against the backdrop of campus Vietnam
protests in 1971, portrays teenaged June as she leaves St. Barnabas Home for Unwed Mothers and considers returning to college, but arrives home to find her parents divorcing and her mother unrecognizably ill.
Though the village in The Grand Scheme of Things is small, what unravels has universal, historic, and lasting implications. These are stories of protest and growth, of loss and surrender, of acceptance and compromise.
144 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2025
3 people are currently reading
7 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Cedeño
3 books6 followersSarah Cedeño’s The Grand Scheme of Things, her debut story collection, is forthcoming from Harbor Editions in 2025. Her chapbook of essays on womanhood and illness, Not Something We Discuss Often, was released in 2022 from Harbor Editions. Her essay "The Visible Woman" was chosen by Vivian Gornick as a Notable Essay in the Best American Essays 2022. Her work has appeared in Brevity, Salamander, The Journal, The Baltimore Review, Bellevue Literary Review, and elsewhere.
Sarah lives in Brockport, NY with her husband, two sons, some old ghosts, and a dog, and teaches writing at SUNY College at Brockport. You can reach her at www.sarahmcedeno.com.
Sarah lives in Brockport, NY with her husband, two sons, some old ghosts, and a dog, and teaches writing at SUNY College at Brockport. You can reach her at www.sarahmcedeno.com.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 2, 2025
A riveting collection ~ I found myself entranced by the characters populating the fictional world of Bridgeport - The last story, "Cold Storage," was exceptional - I didn't want it to end, but when it did, the last lines were perfect. Emotionally resonant long after the stories were finished. Cedeno has a way of exploring the macroscopic/"grand" themes of life - mortality/war/poverty/illness - through the microscopic lens of the individual.
September 16, 2025
A wonderful, sometimes surreal, sometimes creepy, sometimes sad, consistently engaging collection of stories. I want to live in Bridgeport!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews