The Winter Without Milk: Whimsical and Cerebral Short Stories – Reimagining Oedipus, Lady Macbeth, Scheherezade

by Jane Avrich

Jane Avrich explores the perils of desire in these fifteen brilliant stories. Here are characters irresistibly attracted to excess — material, emotional, spiritual — who must in the end choose between a life of self-indulgence and a life of self-control. The results are both disastrous and uplifting, and often wickedly funny.
Throughout The Winter Without Milk are reimagined characters from literature and history — Oedipus, Lady Macbeth, Scheherezade, for example — as well as everyday people who want more. Avrich's writing ranges from whimsical to cerebral. She pays homage to everyone from Kafka to Keats to Sophocles but is very much an original and a major new talent in contemporary fiction.

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

After finishing all these short stories by Avrich I felt in awe of the process of how some writers choose to go with their craft. Avrich in particular seems to really stretch the creative box when it comes to telling an engaging story. Her stories are not all very easily digestible exactly, either, but what I received from most of them is that I experienced a magical sense afterwards similar to when I read a fairy tale when I was a child. I felt like I had never heard these types of stories before, yet they were familiar at the same time.

Again, Avrich's short stories are not all alike. One story will be enchanting and lovely and the next story may seem to take you on a wild ride that can leave you at times bewildered. Then you discover a marvelous one---one of the stories will keep you so engaged and so entrenched that you will be furious that it ends so quickly. More than half of Avrich's short stories should extend into longer stories. They are really that engaging. You will feel as though she stops the short story in the wrong place--that some of the stories deserve to be continued. I felt that way with more than half of them. It also made it hard to begin a new story after a good one ended.

A unique tool Avrich uses in some of her stories is a touch of humor. I find it unique since many fictional writers of modern time do not seem to know how to insert decent humor without seeming campy or predictable. Charles Dickens did it well in some of his novels, like David Cooperfield, but most that I have come across rarely leave me smiling so much as cringing. It seems very unintentional (Avrich's humor) because it feels candid and true and absolutely silly at times. How Avrich entwines both silliness and darkness together is quite marvelous.

One could either despise all these short stories---a couple seem to rant more than tell a story, or you will fall in love with her magical way of drawing you in. How she is able to create these gypsy-like mythical dark creatures that seem to be real in every way, yet ridiculous and silly at times is inspiring.

I am glad I fell in love with her writing rather than "not get it". I feel like I was a lucky person to be in the camp that just gets "her way".

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS WAS SO GOOD.

I had high expectations for this based on who had recommended it to me but it was not what I expected it to be. Hoo boy. What a variety of tales this had. Some relied on literary references, which were extremely clever and at points die-laughing hilarious (one particularly well-executed example seen in "Literary Lonelyhearts," which depicts a service that delivers lonely men the literary wives they've dreamed of). Some scrapped them completely. Avrich's storytelling is just so perfect. Her voice is light and manages to fit whatever quaint era she's set each story in. Not a single character in this collection is not compelling. Plus, each story is woven through by threads of female empowerment that I can only describe as the same kind seen in Kim Addonizio's "What Do Women Want?"

Despite my love for this book the main takeaway from it was not one that had to do with how to write well or how to construct a story. It's that books gaining fame can be a total crapshoot. I'm amazed this hasn't been more widely read. Check it out, it's great.

[Abigail Ceremuga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eclectic in voice, setting, characters and motivation, I really enjoyed this collection of short stories.

[Cassandra Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories I liked better than others, overall an enjoyable read!

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jane Avrich is in love with words, which makes reading her stories a pleasure. Her descriptions are rich and cinematic. That said, I was not motivated to spend much time thinking about what Avrich actually has to say to the readers.

[Sharon G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bizarre, pedantic, and sometimes memorable.

[Tori]

2004- I found this collection of 15 short stories, all dealing with the central theme of desire, to be alright. Perhaps one of my favorite things the author did was take characters from literature and incorporate them in stories. Hester Prynne, Lady Macbeth, Oedipus, and Scheherazade all make appearances. One thing I disliked was that it seemed that the author wanted to make each story so different from the others that you almost felt you were reading a book full of stories from different authors and it feel like it interrupted the rhythm the author had just set up in the previous story.

[Jobiska (Cindy) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, another one that i have to confess I didn't quite finish, but read enough of to "count" in my opinion. I really tried. The stories are unique and original, but depressing and not engaging...the short one about trash, for example, was more of a long free verse poem in prose form going on and on and on, just a flight of fancy that got very tiring to follow after a while. None of the characters are at all engaging....I didn't think it would be a feel-good book but I thought it would make me think more than just make me feel "ugh." Sorry!

[Gena · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's one story in particular here that I love. Story 2, about trash.

[Georgia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good creative writing

[Tracee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't have the patience for such poetic prose