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Nightjar: Stories
Not yet published
Expected 7 Jul 26From the award-winning author of the national bestseller Idaho comes a stunning collection of stories that explore how unexpected intuitions forever alter the lives of ordinary people.
Five years after moving into the isolated house in rural Oregon where her husband lived as a child, the protagonist of “Victor’s Room” begins to doubt her husband’s account of his family’s past. In “Round Lake,” a young woman’s plans to meet a lover in Tokyo are upended when she learns a startling truth about her mother’s death. In “Owl,” winner of an O. Henry Award, a fur trapper reckons with the dreadful origins of his marriage after his wife is brutally injured by four adolescent boys.
Haunting and psychologically provocative, and set against the vivid backdrop of the Pacific Northwest, Nightjar illuminates the secret, instinctive knowledge that lies just under the surface of our awareness.
Five years after moving into the isolated house in rural Oregon where her husband lived as a child, the protagonist of “Victor’s Room” begins to doubt her husband’s account of his family’s past. In “Round Lake,” a young woman’s plans to meet a lover in Tokyo are upended when she learns a startling truth about her mother’s death. In “Owl,” winner of an O. Henry Award, a fur trapper reckons with the dreadful origins of his marriage after his wife is brutally injured by four adolescent boys.
Haunting and psychologically provocative, and set against the vivid backdrop of the Pacific Northwest, Nightjar illuminates the secret, instinctive knowledge that lies just under the surface of our awareness.
- GenresShort Stories
272 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication July 7, 2026
114 people want to read
About the author
Emily Ruskovich
7 books590 followersEmily Ruskovich grew up in the mountains of northern Idaho. She graduated from the University of Montana and received an MA in English from the University of New Brunswick and an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She was the 2011–2012 James C. McCreight Fiction Fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her fiction has appeared in Zoetrope, One Story, and The Virginia Quarterly Review. She was a 2015 winner of the O. Henry Award for her story “Owl.”
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Nightjar was a beautiful collection of introspective stories that have a loose throughline of secrets and lies. While starting stronger than it ends, all of these stories leave the reader with a lot to reflect on.
A woman made to raise her family in her husband's childhood home, even though details about his past aren't adding up. A man caring after his wife after a horrific accident, but the mystery of the accident tugs at him. A father and his son grapple with the death of the father's brother, their lives crashing back together for better or for worse. A girl discovers a strange bucket that can "take pictures". Each story, on the surface, seems to fall somewhere between strange and sad, but there is so much more under the surface. Many hold a quiet humor, some unintentionally hit you right in the heart, most make you put the book down to consider further, ending in thought provoking ways.
I admit, I picked this up almost immediately after finishing a disappointing short story collection, so it may be that my praise comes from that direct comparison, but I can't help but find this did almost everything better than The History of Sound did. It was shorter, only five stories, but each packed a punch in its own unique way. "Twist" might be too sensational of a term, but most of the stories (in the beginning) had some sort of reveal that caught me off guard in a positive way that didn't feel gimmicky.
The first few stories were stronger in my opinion, but the collection as a whole was very good. The characters were all so real and interesting, written in a way that reminds you of everyone's rich, introspective lives. The author did a fantastic job with this collection, I only wish there were more stories here, I couldn't get enough.
A woman made to raise her family in her husband's childhood home, even though details about his past aren't adding up. A man caring after his wife after a horrific accident, but the mystery of the accident tugs at him. A father and his son grapple with the death of the father's brother, their lives crashing back together for better or for worse. A girl discovers a strange bucket that can "take pictures". Each story, on the surface, seems to fall somewhere between strange and sad, but there is so much more under the surface. Many hold a quiet humor, some unintentionally hit you right in the heart, most make you put the book down to consider further, ending in thought provoking ways.
I admit, I picked this up almost immediately after finishing a disappointing short story collection, so it may be that my praise comes from that direct comparison, but I can't help but find this did almost everything better than The History of Sound did. It was shorter, only five stories, but each packed a punch in its own unique way. "Twist" might be too sensational of a term, but most of the stories (in the beginning) had some sort of reveal that caught me off guard in a positive way that didn't feel gimmicky.
The first few stories were stronger in my opinion, but the collection as a whole was very good. The characters were all so real and interesting, written in a way that reminds you of everyone's rich, introspective lives. The author did a fantastic job with this collection, I only wish there were more stories here, I couldn't get enough.
January 25, 2026
So happy to have another Emily Ruskovich book on my shelf! NIGHTJAR is a fantastic collection. Loved each story—“Victor’s Room” especially.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews