History on a Personal Note: Stories

by Binnie Kirshenbaum

From New York City to the former East Germany, from rural Virginia to affluent suburbia, the characters in these short stories grapple with love, loss, greed, perversion, and other awful truths as they try to transcend their limitations with occasional humor and dignity. In "History on a Personal Note," Lorraine, a Southerner, wonders if her German paramour will find the inspiration to leave his wife amidst the destruction of the Berlin Wall. In "Viewing Stacy from Above," a pregnant woman descends into a pit of despair as she contemplates the constraints of motherhood. In "Money Honey," a young adulteress who ditches her husband is reprimanded by an extended family of elders whose morals are even more dubious than her own. Contemplative, allegorical, and witty, History on a Personal Note takes us into a world laced with black humor and makes us laugh -- until it hurts.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Womens, American

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Binnie Kirshenbaum is the author of two short story collections, six novels, and numerous essays and reviews. Her work is noted for its humorous and ribald prose, which often disguises themes of human loneliness and the yearning for connection. Her heroines are usually urban, very smart, and chastened by lifetimes of unwelcome surprises. Kirshenbaum has been published in German, French, Hebrew, Turkish, and several other languages.

Kirshenbaum grew up in New York and attended Columbia University and Brooklyn College. She is the chair of the Writing Division of the Columbia University Graduate School of the Arts, where she has served as a professor of fiction for more than a decade.

Called, “a humorist, even a comedian, a sort of stand-up tragic,” by Richard Howard, Kirshenbaum has twice won Critics’ Choice Awards and was selected as one of the Best Young American Novelists by Granta Magazine. Kirshenbaum was also a nominee for The National Jewish Book Award for her novel Hester Among the Ruins. Her new novel, The Scenic Route, was published in May, 2009. Of the novel, Gary Steyngart says, “The Scenic Route is warm, wise, and very difficult to put down."

Binnie Kirshenbaum lives and works in New York City.

Binnie Kirshenbaum was born in Yonkers and grew up in Westchester County. After attending Columbia University as an undergraduate, Kirshenbaum earned her MFA at Brooklyn College. She taught at Wagner College before joining the faculty at the Writing Division of Columbia University's School of the Arts.

Reviews

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a perfect book for reading in short bursts or all at once. I enjoyed the stories, and that they were easy to read and fit in those times when "I could be doing something but there's not enough time to start anything." The stories in this collection run three to fourteen pages and touch on many aspects of life. Easy-to-read does not mean fluffy. Each story will cause the reader to step back and think.

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminded me of Lorrie Moore.

[Erin Hutson · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a bona fide short story writer, I absolutely adored this collection of short stories. Kirshenbaum incorporated historical elements into most of her stories, which was an interesting thread through the book. Would recommend this to anyone who enjoys short stories!