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Looking Backward

Selections from the TLR Archive

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Fairleigh Dickinson University

Briana McDonald

Review: They Say Sarah by Pauline Delabroy-Allard

November 16, 2020

Briana McDonald

Translated from French by Adriana Hunter (New York: Other Press, 2020)   Written in poetic, gorgeously sparse prose, Pauline Delabroy-Allard’s debut novel, They Say Sarah, captures the intensity of two women’s violent and obsessive love affair. Structured in two parts, … Continued

Review: Beauty by Christina Chiu

June 22, 2020

Briana McDonald

(Santa Fe, NM: The Santa Fe Writer’s Project, 2020) Beauty by Christina Chiu follows aspiring fashion designer Amy Wong through a lifetime of adversity in an industry and culture that restricts the will and autonomy of women. In unflinching and … Continued

Review: The Best Small Fictions: 2019 Anthology by Rilla Askew and Nathan Leslie

April 6, 2020

Briana McDonald

(New York: Sonder Press, 2019) In its fifth year, The Best Small Fictions anthology is more robust than ever, representing authors across twenty-six nations and six continents. The volume – featuring over one-hundred flash fiction pieces – highlights ten stories … Continued

A Review of The Hundred Wells of Salaga by Ayesha Harruna Attah

July 8, 2019

Briana McDonald

(New York: Other Press, 2019) When asked about the inspirations for her characters, author of The Hundred Wells of Salaga, Ayesha Harruna Attah, shares that her “goal was to write fully rounded people…because even the kindest people are capable of … Continued

A Review of The Lost Country by William Gay

November 19, 2018

Briana McDonald

(Ann Harbor, MI: Dzanc Books, 2018) The Lost Country was published posthumously, ten years after author William Gay’s death. Fans of Gay’s work speculate when the text was composed, debating whether it fell toward the beginning or end of his … Continued

A Review of The Surprising Place by Malinda McCollum

June 25, 2018

Briana McDonald

(Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 2018) At its core, The Surprising Place is a grim yet authentic exploration of the modern American Midwest and the unsatisfied desires that haunt its residents’ interior lives. Malinda McCollum guides readers through the … Continued

A Review of Visitations by Lee Upton

April 2, 2018

Briana McDonald

(Baton Rouge, LA: Yellow Shoe Fiction, 2017) Balancing wit and wisdom, Lee Upton’s most recent short story collection, Visitations, is provocative and entertaining as it follows an eclectic cast of narrators in their journeys to self-discovery. Whether through the many … Continued

A Review of Fragments of a Mirror by Knud Sønderby

November 27, 2017

Briana McDonald

Translated from the Danish by Michael Goldman (New York, NY: Spuyten Duyvil, 2017) Translated into English for the first time, Knud Sønderby’s essay collection Fragments of a Mirror is both a journey through the Danish landscape and through the writer’s … Continued

A Review of The Breaking of a Wave by Fabio Genovesi

August 7, 2017

Briana McDonald

Translated from the Italian by Will Schutt (New York, NY: Europa Editions, 2017) Truth blends with fantasy in The Breaking of a Wave as young Luna grapples with her older brother’s death. Luca, her brother, is drowned by the same ocean … Continued

A Review of Eveningland by Michael Knight

April 24, 2017

Briana McDonald

(New York, NY: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2017) Built on an in-depth exploration of commonplace experiences, Michael Knight’s short story collection Eveningland explores the stages of a linear lifespan of its various fictional residents in Mobile Bay, Alabama. While guiding readers … Continued

A Review of Private Life by Josep Maria de Sagarra

December 12, 2016

Briana McDonald

Translated from the Catalan by Mary Ann Newman (Brooklyn, NY: Archipelago Books, 2015) In 1932, revered Catalan novelist Josep Maria de Sagarra put it upon himself to produce the great Barcelonan novel. Determined to produce a raw and gritty representation of … Continued

A Review of The Pull of It by Wendy J. Fox

October 3, 2016

Briana McDonald

(Los Angeles, CA: Underground Voices, 2016) There is a famous moment in William Faulker’s As I Lay Dying when a blank space exists on the page where language fails to describe Addie’s feminine experience. Similarly, Wendy J. Fox’s The Pull … Continued

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