House Fires

by Nancy Reisman

These eleven stories travel from snowbound Buffalo in the 1940s to Boston, Providence and San Francisco in 1999, and across the domestic terrain of desire's unruly claims to the nuances of grief. Passion and heartbreak are often intertwined in these stories.

Genres: Short Stories

228 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1999

Reviews

[nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually started 3/14/2020 but I want to see my read titles appear in my year in review...you know how it is...anyway, I don't believe reading has ever actually made me cry before, but I read the last three stories in one sitting and was just silently weeping through the last couple of paragraphs...the catharsis of it all.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most wonderful stories!

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I found some of the character's thoughts painful which added to the strength of the book. These thoughts are those that we usually censor, even for ourselves because they can be embarrassing. But this author didn't allow the characters to censor them so we could see them in their rawness.

[Emily]

Never finished this one. I owe it to her. And, the stories I did read were really good.

[Rosemarie Cassidy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title story is one of the most haunting stories I have ever read. The smallest details of human suffering are sometimes the most telling. Reisman offers the minutiae of grief and renders it, somehow, beautiful.