We Show What We Have Learned and Other Stories

by Clare Beams

Joyce Carol Oates calls debut author Clare Beams “wickedly sharp-eyed, wholly unpredictable …a female /feminist voice for the twenty-first century.”

The literary, historic, and fantastic collide in these wise and exquisitely unsettling stories. From bewildering assemblies in school auditoriums to the murky waters of a Depression-era health resort, Beams’s landscapes are tinged with otherworldliness, and her characters’ desires stretch the limits of reality. Ing énues at a boarding school bind themselves to their headmaster’s vision of perfection ; a nineteenth-century landscape architect embarks on his first major project, but finds the terrain of class and power intractable ; a bride glimpses her husband’s past when she wears his World War II parachute as a gown ; and a teacher comes undone in front of her astonished fifth graders.

As they capture the strangeness of being human, the stories in We Show What We Have Learned reveal Clare Beams’s rare and capacious imagination—and yet they are grounded in emotional complexity, illuminating the ways we attempt to transform ourselves, our surroundings, and each other.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Magical Realism, Feminism, Fantasy, Adult, Adult Fiction

184 pages, Paperback

First published October 25, 2016

About the author

Clare Beams’s novel The Illness Lesson, published in February of 2020 by Doubleday, was named a New York Times Editors’ Choice, a best book of 2020 by Esquire and Bustle, and a best book of February by Time, O Magazine, and Entertainment Weekly; it has been longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. Her story collection, We Show What We Have Learned, was published by Lookout Books in 2016; it won the Bard Fiction Prize, was longlisted for the Story Prize, and was a Kirkus Best Debut of 2016, as well as a finalist for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize, the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Fiction Award, and the Shirley Jackson Award. A new novel, The Garden, will be published by Doubleday in 2023. Her fiction appears in One Story, n+1, Ecotone, The Common, the Kenyon Review, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Electric Literature’s Recommended Reading, and The Best American Nonrequired Reading, and has received special mention in The Best American Short Stories 2013 and The Pushcart Prize XXXV. She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the Sewanee Writers' Conference, and the Sustainable Arts Foundation. After teaching high school English for six years in Falmouth, Massachusetts, she moved to Pittsburgh, where she now lives with her husband and two daughters. She has taught creative writing at Carnegie Mellon University and St. Vincent College.

Reviews

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall a solid collection, there were three stories that were absolutely fantastic. The rest were okay, with markedly good characterization but haphazard progression. The author is, obviously, highly talented and her writing will undoubtedly mature over time. I found these visions to be engaging in a “put-downable” sort of way. The three outstanding stories were “The Drop,” a tense fable about maturity, marriage, and the masks we wear, “All the Keys to All the Doors,” an ode to collective and individual grief and the traditional burden on women to ease it, and “The Renaissance Person Tournament,” in which the feminist heroine takes back the narrative and saves the day. Three shining stories, three enthusiastic stars!!

[Bill Hsu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beams' sympathetic characters, deftly sketched without resorting to cliches, find themselves in tense, uncomfortable situations, tangled in insoluble problems. For example, the parallel seduction/conflict in "The Renaissance Person Tournament" is lovingly rendered; the ending is left tantalizingly open, but ultimately satisfying.

Shortlisted for single-author collection for the 2016 Shirley Jackson awards. Of the other finalists, I'd vote for this over Livia Llewellyn's fine set; in my opinion, it certainly blows away the D.P. Watt and Jeffrey Ford collections.

[R.L. Maizes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished Clare Beams' debut collection, WE SHOW WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED, and I can't recommend it highly enough. The stories are surprising and original. The author shapes unusual landscapes and unforgettable characters to illuminate ideas and reveal human nature. The writing is gorgeous.

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually hate fiction with anything supernatural/fantastical/unrealistic, but these stories were so compelling and well-crafted that it didn't bother me. I finished it in a day, and that's only because I tried to stretch it out because I didn't want it to end. It's really kind of annoying to discover a wonderful new author and then realize they haven't published anything else yet so I can't get any more of her stuff to read :(.

[bookspider · Rating 4 out of 5]

On this subtle and sinister crawl through the dense garden of the unconscious, Clare Beams is shining a light into the shadowy corners. In "Hourglass," a boarding school promising a 'transformational education,' is not what it seems. Simultaneously a classic gothic tale and a noteworthy critique of social standards for women acknowledging the weight of the 'form' part of 'conformity.' this story starts the book off in a blunt, unforgiving way. "World's End" explores the dynamics of class and power structures, and the persistent itch of coveting and unrequited love. In "Granna" a mysterious phenomenon causes Teresa to reassess her understanding of her ailing grandmother and herself. The strange scenarios presented by Clare Beams have the feeling of a forced observation, by which the subjects (and the readers) must confront the uncanny elements of the world and their psyches. These stories have the distinct sense of something alien scratching at the door. It's a familiar door but it opens now onto an unfamiliar world, a stranger one than expected. A delicately balanced study of complex emotions, teetering on the verge of a vast, grotesque uncanny valley.

[Karen Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommend picking up this short story collection from a very talented local author. Found that Hayden's Ferry Review perfectly sums up why you should read this collection of short stories:

"Good fiction surprises us and makes us think when we have finished reading it. Clare’s fiction surprised us and made us think while we were reading it. And it kept surprising us. I’ve read the story ('We Show What We Have Learned') a few times since deciding we wanted to publish it. It gets better every time. It’s not a weird story. It’s just a good story. That happens to be weird. Which is why we love it."

You will too!

[Kim Lockhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid stories, each with the right tone and tenor to put us uncomfortably ill at ease. A couple of them broke through into disturbing territory, where imagination and truth collide to create heady sparks.

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute stunner of a collection -- the cover blurb suggests a blend of Alice Munro and Shirley Jackson, and it is weirdly, wonderfully true.

Beams' stories are beautifully observed and laced with the forbidden and the macabre. This is a slim volume but intensely engrossing. As I read I kept flipping in dismay to Beams' bio ("This is her first book") and the copyright date (2016), trying to work out a scenario in which this was NOT her only book; that she had, in fact, published five more books and a novel, so that I could keep swimming through her lush, gorgeous, uncanny words forever.

WRITE FASTER, CLARE! Everyone else, get your hands on this beautiful, weird little collection

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 16 of my #2017readingchallenge is Clare Beams' "We Show What We Have Learned."

Wow wow wow wow. Absolutely stunning, beautiful, ephemeral, feminine, eerie, lyrical, painful, halting... I was completely not prepared to love this book, I didn't know it even existed until a friend sent it my way. Beams is easily one of my favorite authors today, just from reading these stories.

I won't spoil it for you. Read it.

[Jessica Furtado · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beams is a sharp writer with haunting, magical thinking. I enjoyed several of these stories, while others hit flat notes. I find that often her surreal elements or subtle horror work beautifully, while other times these elements don’t get fully fleshed out and leave the stories feeling incomplete.

With a unique voice and a wonderfully dark imagination, I imagine that Beams will continue to find a balance between reality and the eerie to become one hell of a writer.

Favorites: “Hourglass,” We Show What We Have Learned,” & “The Drop”

[Megan Doney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caution: will likely give you tripped out disturbing dreams.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how Ms. Beams' stories are wistful without being nostalgic, magical without being mystical. She writes stories full of innocence, desire, and inspiration, but yet they are not passionate or overwhelming. There is a strong sense of restraint flowing through her words, nothing is ever too-much. Yes, amazing things happen, but the reader thinks of it as quirky and creative. I love stories that linger with you long after you've read them, they make you ponder what lesson the character really learned, and whether you actually understood the story from all angles. Perhaps the reader, like the character, has some lessons to learn as well. While all of the stories go in unexpected directions, none of them end on a sad or down note. Each story is quietly optimistic in its own way, and I really loved that aspect of her storytelling.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can tell almost immediately a young white woman wrote this in the way all the female characters view their womanhood in the context of society. There’s an inherent assumption that all women’s experiences are universal and that is kind of off putting as a WoC. That being said, Clare Beams’ talent as a writer shines through all the stories, though some of them sadly didn’t seem to end up going anywhere. My favorite story is easily the last one, the Renaissance Person Tournament. The narrator, Julia’s perspective on love and life kept me engaged and left me blown away.

[Nadine in California · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping these short stories would feel similar to Kelly Link's - they're fairly long, about 20 pages or so, with plots that are slightly odd, and written in a strong, measured, clear voice. While they did hit all these notes, the stories simply weren't interesting to me. I didn't read them all, but the ones I did read seemed like they could have been first chapters of a novel. Maybe this author's strengths would be a better fit for long fiction.

[lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

These weren't bad, but they didn't move me, or excite me in any way. I would recommend them if you're really intrigued by short stories, and I will definitely keep my eye on this author. "Hourglass" "Granna" "All the Keys To All the Doors" and "The Renaissance Person Tournament" were all good stories.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious, spooky, thrilling, touching, bizarre, and beautifully written. It is alway astounding to me that books of short stories aren't more popular in the realm of book buying. What's not to love? We take a journey from centuries ago to a classroom with a teacher losing her limbs to a grandmother filling her youthfulness back up in the woods. I so enjoyed these stories and think you will too.

[Jean · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish this book. (Highly unusual for me!) Only read the first few stories. Just did not resonate with me. Saw someone else review that the last stories were the best, but I have totally lost interest.

[Marnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I normally wouldn't pick up a book of short stories because they're not really my "thing" when it comes to books. But wow, Clare Beams somehow makes each of these short stories feel like a book of its own. Character development, plot development, and overall storytelling was superb.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

About as close to perfect as I've found in a story collection, Beams beautifully draws her characters and the often eerie/ghostly situations they are in. Especially loved "Hourglass," "All the Keys to All the Doors," "Ailments," and "The Drop."

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ms Beams writes in a way that makes me envious and inspired. Her stories might seem grotesque in any other writer's hands, but she exquisitely filled me with wonder and unease.

[LJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good collection of short stories, not linked, but having the same type of dreamy quality. Some are historical fiction, others have magical realism involved, one is fabulist. They don't have a kind of "summing up" ending and that makes them feel complex, and also makes them linger in the mind of a reader. So, good qualities and a pretty solid collection.

If you're not used to a writer who uses lots of words and complex sentences, you will get that here. For me, it's enjoyable to come across an author unafraid to take time to express an idea. The prose almost feel like something out of another era, something along the lines of Austen, maybe? These are not stories one will whip through. Better to take time with each one and have a rest between them. I had my favorites, and one which I did not enjoy much at all, but that's to be expected in a short story collection. There's only nine stories in this one, so eight out of nine is a pretty good rating.

[Scott Pomfret · Rating 5 out of 5]

A strong collection of stories from an author I hadn't read before. Many of these take place in historical settings, which Beams brings to life instantly with a few deft sentences. All of the stories include strong characters at odds with other characters, desires, or historical predicaments. Many endings are unexpected, and none of the tales drags. I found myself wanting to read more of Beams' work by the end.

Among the gems: "Ailments," a story set in plague years where one sister envies the other, because of the latter's marriage to an unbearably attractive man. "We Show What We Have Learned" about a class of modern students whose teacher begins to physically deteriorate before their very eyes. "Granna" about a granddaughter who brings her inactive grandmother who lives in an institution to the cabin community where the pair shared during the granddaughter's childhood. (Granna, the character, is now a personal hero!)

[Sarah Beaudette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I wish this weren't her first book, so that I could immediately plunge into another by her. Life, as always, was busy when I started reading We Show What We Have Learned. It took me a week or so to get momentum, and then I read the rest of the stories in a night. Beams's voice is mesmerizing, her plot lines tantalizing like a distant wavering light viewed through beveled glass. Some of the stories reminded me of Carmen Machado, but along with fantastic concepts like a teacher who literally falls to pieces in front of her students or a building thats absorb both mass murderers and the lives they have wrecked, Beams also brings a stunning talent to historical settings. The best collection I've read this year.

[Karen White · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been meaning to read this book for a year since I heard the author speak at UNC Wilmington's writers conference. It's published by the university's press and I was happy to support them by buying the book, too. Honestly, I put it off for a long time because the cover art was really off-putting. I'm very happy that I finally read it, however. This book is extremely odd and at times creepy but the writing is beautiful and I enjoyed the skewed perspectives. I am particularly drawn to/repelled by cover art so I am glad that I finally got over my judgement of this one.

[Carrie Bacon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Small, independent presses are my favorite, which made finding a new one even more exciting. WE SHOW WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED is the first book I've read from Lookout Books, and it was a fantastic way to finish up short story month! These stories were unpredictable and made me uneasy, two traits I love in what I read. Each story is so distinct from the next that I admire Beams even more for having such a broad imagination, in addition to her impeccable prose skills.

[Ben Haines]

read this because I liked the title story. I think set me up to not enjoy the rest of the book as much. they were generally longer and less weird although still weird.

I mean I liked it, she does some good phrases.

liked hourglass and world's end. relatable characters in creative settings.

maybe I would say it felt forced sometimes. Like is the last line of "we show what we have learned" necessary? does it go too far? I don't know just felt missing something overall.

[David Rickert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been looking for an author to pick up where Shirley Jackson left off, and I think I've finally found it. These are terrific stories by someone with great control of her craft-well-constructed, yet haunting and weird in a way that makes them memorable. I read a lot of them twice for the sheer enjoyment of seeing how Beams put everything together.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection is a remarkable collection. The stories are so interesting and nuanced. It didn’t feel like a first collection. It felt like the work of a fully realized artist. The hint of the fantastical is right up my alley. I’m so glad I discovered this writer and will follow her career eagerly.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The words in these stories feel so completely imagined, and I enjoyed every last one of them. But why do so many contemporary short stories refuse to have endings? Some of the stories seemed to even skip the climax, preferring to simply infer it. Like, people. Write a whole story. I beg of you. The title story was the best, and--not coincidentally--it had a whole story arc to it.

[Sierra Greer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such gems. Each one. I keep trying to find patterns between the stories, tracing the various versions of longing and the desire to be seen. I feel like these stories are about both art and the absence of art, so when Granna finds "the right teeth for her skin," I feel myself being eaten, too. These stories make me feel seen.