Creek Walk and Other Stories

by Molly Giles

A collection of fourteen stories introduces women struggling with everyday life

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Womens

Hardcover

First published February 1, 1997

About the author

Molly Giles’ newest collection of short stories, Wife With Knife, recently won the Leap Frog Fiction Contest and will be published in October of 2021. She has published four previous prize winning collections of stories: Rough Translations, which won the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, the Boston Globe Award, and the the Bay Area Book Reviewers’ Award; Creek Walk, which won the Small Press Best Fiction Award, the California Commonwealth Silver Medal for Fiction, and was a New York Times Notable Book; Bothered, which won the Split Oak Press Flash Fiction Award and All the Wrong Places, which won the Spokane Prize for Fiction. She has also published a novel, Iron Shoes, and an ebook of stories, Three for the Road. Her work has been included in numerous anthologies including the O.Henry and Pushcart Prize (twice) and she has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Marin Arts Council, and the Arkansas Arts Council.

Molly has taught fiction writing at San Francisco State University, University of Hawaii in Manoa, San Jose State University, the National University of Ireland at Galway, the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, and at numerous writing conferences, including The Community of Writers and Naropa. She has won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Book Reviewing, been awarded residences at MacDowell, Yadoo, and The House of Literature in Paros, Greece, and has edited many published writers, including Amy Tan.

Reviews

[Sir He-Man · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book of short stories. I especially enjoyed the really strange one where a woman was hallucinating that she was being interviewed through her boring daily routine by an imaginary television talk show host. Psychologically fascinating and never too heavy, these stories alternate between encounters that verge on spiritual awareness to stories about people who are only dimly aware of how they are perceived. I liked how subtle the tone is concerning things about perception and judgment.

[Laura Watt · Rating 1 out of 5]

I must be missing something about this writer. She's won all kinds of awards & so forth, but I found her stories to feel too obvious and forced, somehow, like she was trying to prove some kind of point through them; they all have a strong tone of judgment. Most of her main characters were single mothers struggling to make ends meet, & everyone else richer or more established came across as stupid or mean or both. I didn't like these. (1/99)

[emily ganter · Rating 4 out of 5]

really enjoyed and resonated with many of the stories.

[Superstition Review · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creek Walk and other stories gives readers a glimpse into each narrator’s unique story, from a woman’s solemn grief for her mother’s death to a woman who is having an emotional affair with her married friend. Each story is based on a relatable theme. Molly Giles is also able to capture each person’s voice in language so compelling it reads like memoir. This is reflected in wry dialogue, especially with the man who is questioning his life’s purpose.

“What if something is wrong with me?” he asked.

“What? What are you talking about? Nothing’s wrong with you.”

“You’re sure of that?”

“Yes.” I was. “You’re fine. Just a little… unfinished.”

“Unfinished.” He breathed roughly, glaring. “Like a symphony?”

“More like furniture.”


Review by Dennise Garcia

[CAG_1337 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really wonderful collection. With the exception of a couple stories that I thought were either a bit gimmicky or just didn't resonate with me, all in this collection were superbly crafted. Giles seems to have a keen insight into human psychology and deftly weaves that into her stories.

Still with all that talent and success (she won a Flannery O'Connor award for "Rough Translations") I was a bit amused, but mostly disappointed, to see in the Author's Bio section of the book, that she touted herself as being a Pulitzer Prize nominee. Her website still claims this honor, and it is quite off-putting. Anyone can nominate any qualifying book, including one's own provided you have the entry fee. I don't know the circumstances of how she was nominated, but the only honor that is meaningful with the Pulitzer (aside from winning), is being a finalist. She did not win. She was not a finalist. This is resume padding, and it is particularly sad to see as she is talented and has plenty of accomplishments, genuine accomplishments, to be proud of.

But I digress...fabulous collection, worth reading.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is no territory that can’t be chartered by Giles. Her characters speak from the imagination, house, street, office, anywhere, even beyond death, always with a wild accuracy and originality. But the most wonderful gift of reading these stories is that they tempt and encourage me to write more of my own.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Giles' voice. I keep this book in my car, on the console, just in case.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of the blue this book just popped into my head (and also Giles' novel Iron Shoes) over 156 years after I first read it. Just goes to show how enduring good stories can be and how influential.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fourteen short stories about the hearts and minds of women. Simple, honest story telling.