I Was Trying to Describe What it Feels Like

January 1, 2017
In trying to describe what it feels like to read Holland's new collection of published and unpublished stories, words like fast-forward, succinct, and biting come to mind, and Holland's direct, authoritative style is as unique and instantly recognizable as it was in her debut novel Bird (2015). For new readers, it's a style that might take time to get used to. But the diversity of forms and intriguing story lines will keep both fans and first-time explorers on their toes, wondering where Holland will lead them next. Whether novella length, like Orbit, which anchored her first collection (After They Dragged the Lake, 1994), or short, like Monocot, which resembles a prose poem, these stories largely revolve around family relationships. Holland presents emotional lives behind closed doors, but after those doors are kicked in. Basic needs go unmet, cravings are only temporarily satisfied, dreams dissolve into disillusion. There is always a visceral sense of something wild and untamable beneath the surface of Holland's stories, moving her characters through scenes and moving plots toward sharp conclusions.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)