The Concord Bookshop - Established 1940

A middle-aged woman dreams of being courted by Prince William; another fantasizes about being murdered as a dramatic ending to a stagnant marriage; still another teaches swimming lessons on her kitchen floor to eighty-year-olds in search of companionship. In this wonderful first collection, Miranda July writes convincing and compassionate stories of characters whose fantasies of happiness and intimacy are rarely satisfied by reality. Their sixteen stories of loneliness and longing are funny and honest, though July never fails to surprise with odd plot turns and charmingly bizarre fantasies. Though she writes beautifully, it is July's sharp wit and surprising humor that make me love this collection. These stories are profound, slyly witty, and ultimately uplifting, but never quite in the way you expect.

~Katie