Delicate Edible Birds

Starred review from December 15, 2008
Nine stories. Nine wildly unique, exquisitely symphonic tales, full of beauty, tragedy, and the sudden horror of shocking imagesthis is Groff's gift to readers. And what a gift it is. The title story takes us back to Templeton, scene of Groff's debut novel, "The Monsters of Templeton", recounting how a sex-slave scandal has stained the town's movers and shakers. Families are leveled; the economy tanks as shamed sinners flee. Meanwhile, the girls themselves are saved by one desperate act of courage. In "L. DeBard and Aliette," Groff updates the doomed romance of 12th-century lovers Abelard and Eloise, setting the story in 1918 New York City, which is reeling from the devastation of the plague. Shotgun teen marriages, mental illness, a promiscuous woman journalist in a war zone, childhood sweethearts who reconnect, a dictator's wifeGroff moves among these wholly unrelated worlds with a vision that happily traps the reader. Highly recommended.Beth E. Andersen, Ann Arbor Dist. Lib., MI

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2008
Following the publication of Groffsfirst novel, The Monsters of Templeton (2008), comes this collection of nine short stories, six of which have never been published. The richly conceived, finely detailed stories offerportraits of smart, daring women who are in search of, in thrall to, or disillusioned by love. In Lucky Chow Fun, winner of a Pushcart Prize, Groff returns to the town of Templeton to tell the story of a high-school swimmer who uncovers the sordid sexual secrets of her seemingly idyllic small town. L. DeBard and Aliette, included in the latest edition of Best American Short Stories, is a reimagining of the love story of Abelard and H'lose that sees the couple recast as an Olympic swimmer and his pupil, both of whomsuffer through theflu epidemic of 1918. And in the title story, an unconventional femalereporter, fleeing the Nazis inrural France along with a band of male correspondents, must strike a sordid bargain with a brutal farmer to secure their safe passage.Vivid tales from a gifted young writer who continues to surprise.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)