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Where the Light Falls: Selected Stories of Nancy Hale
Rediscover the masterful stories of a midcentury artist whose multifaceted portraits of women were generations ahead of her time“A stunning, crystalline collection.” —VogueNancy Hale was considered one of the preeminent short story artists of her era, a prolific writer whose long association with The New Yorker rivaled that of her contemporary John Cheever. But few readers today will recognize her name. Acclaimed author Lauren Groff has selected twenty-five of Hale's best stories, presented here in the first career-spanning edition of this astonishingly gifted writer's work. These stories seem ahead of their time in their depiction of women--complicated characters, sometimes fragile, possibly wicked, often remarkable in their apparent ordinariness, from an adolescent girl in Connecticut driven into delirium over her burgeoning sexuality in "Midsummer," to a twenty-something New Yorker experiencing culture shock during a visit to a friend's house in Virginia in "That Woman," to a New England widow in search of alcohol while babysitting her grandson in "Flotsam." Other stories touch on memories of childhood, the intense trauma of electroshock therapy, and the spectre of white supremacy. Haunting, vivid, and subversive in the best sense, Where the Light Falls is nothing less than a major literary rediscovery.
384 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 24, 2019
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About the author
Nancy Hale
17 books18 followersNancy Hale was an American novelist and short-story writer. She received the O. Henry Award, a Benjamin Franklin magazine award, and the Henry H. Bellaman Foundation Award for fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
November 19, 2019
This is a collection of twenty-five stories written between 1934 and 1966. Much of their appeal comes from the times in which they were written. Many of them were published in women's magazines, specifically directed toward an audience that preferred stories of a tame, domestic nature. I would recommend this for serious students of the short form, as well as people who enjoy what I call pseudo-nostalgia, fondly longing for an era you never actually experienced. My ratings for the individual stories varied greatly, but Hale's writing is exquisite throughout.
The Earliest Dreams
5 stars
If you aspire to write exquisite descriptive prose about ordinary events, you'll want to study this little gem. It's written in the second person, as if Nancy Hale is talking to the little girl she was in the early 1900s. She's tucked up in bed while her parents are having a dinner party downstairs. She describes the sounds she hears, her perceptions of what's happening downstairs, and the thoughts she has about the animals out in the snowy woods. This one's a four-page masterpiece.
The Double House
3 stars
This is a deftly written but disturbing story about how closely children watch and tune in to the moods of their parents. When things are difficult, they desperately want confirmation that the adults are optimistic and confident. The boy in this story is terrified by his father's despair.
Midsummer
3.5 stars
This is an understated depiction of a spoiled and sheltered sixteen-year-old girl in the throes of her first real infatuation. She, of course, thinks it is love. All of her thoughts and emotions are dramatic and absolute, and she's constantly restless and unsettled by these new sensations. Her inner landscape mirrors the sultry and unyielding New England summer. The fellow in question is beneath her station, and thus ultimately unattainable.
To the North
3 stars
I wondered why Hale chose to write this story. She must have had some connection to Finnish people in the northeastern U.S. This is about a boy who, from infancy, spends his summers on the coast in a place where Finnish people live year round. There is a class divide, and the summer people don't associate with the Finns. Except for Jack. He feels more comfortable with the Finns than with his own people, and spends every moment he can with them every summer.
Crimson Autumn
4 stars
Melissa, a post-debutante young lady, basks in the love of Davis, a popular Harvard football player. He's extremely energetic, what we would today call hyperactive, and he consumes all the oxygen in the room with his exuberance and charisma. Melissa adores him, but he exhausts her. What I found interesting here was the role of the third person in this relationship. Richard is Davis's best friend since childhood. He sort of serves as Davis's unofficial footman and chauffeur and general dogsbody. It never occurs to Melissa, young and foolish as she is, that Richard will someday go off and have a life of his own. She seems to think, consciously or not, that always having Davis will also mean always having Richard. It's the threesome she likes, but I don't think she recognizes the dynamic among the three of them. Richard is the presence that calms and balances Davis, sometimes seemingly there and not there at the same time. When Richard moves on, that role will shift to Melissa, and I doubt she's up to it.
That Woman
3.5 stars
This story highlights the parochialism of the American South in the early to mid-twentieth century. A Yankee woman moves to a southern town where available men are in demand. She befriends a woman who has been shunned by other women in town. Outcast for the offense of having had too many husbands. As if she has hogged up more than her fair share of a scarce resource.
A Place to Hide
3 stars
This is more a vignette than a story, and seems to be autobiographical. It describes visits to someone named Uncle Paul who grows his own food and knits washcloths for soldiers. This one shows its age in its reference to "the World War". It was written in 1940, so the Second World War had not yet been designated as such. "The World War" was the one from 1914 to 1918.
Book Review
4 stars
This one was appealing to me because it incorporates real events that were contemporary at the time the story was written (1941). The story is set at a dinner table where a discussion begins about Hemingway's latest novel. (Not mentioned by name, but it is clearly For Whom the Bell Tolls.) A heated argument ensues about the Spanish Civil War, Franco, Communists and Fascists.There is a character who is said to be based on H.L. Mencken. Said character is described as having "a brown face, like a monkey, with broad thick lips, and thick hair parted in the middle." So yeah, I can see the possibility: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._L._M...
I liked the way the woman in the discussion did not back down. She stood up for her viewpoint right on through to the end.
Those Are as Brothers
4 stars
There are a couple of things going on here. There is Mrs. Mason, a recently divorced woman with two children. She is plagued by fear caused by whatever happened with her ex-husband. She feels she can never really relax or learn to trust again. "Nobody could help, because nobody could possibly understand the irrationality, the uncontrollability, of fear when it was like this, in the blood."
The second thread of the story involves two German refugees, one a Jew, and one not. The story was written in 1941, and it's interesting to see how contemporaneous events associated with WWII were incorporated. The U.S. had not yet entered the war when Hale wrote this story.
The Marching Feet
4 stars
The casual conversation in this piece may be appalling to readers in 2019, but I think it was appalling to Nancy Hale in 1941. She seems to have had a beef with the parochialism and prejudice of people in the Southern U.S. It seems the purpose of this very short piece is to show how southern women spoke so disparagingly about black people and Jews, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to talk about human beings that way. When an actual Jewish woman enters the picture, they condescend to her, and seem to trivialize what the Jewish people in Europe were enduring at the time.
Sunday--1913
2 stars
I didn't care for this one. I felt agitated while reading it, and only finished it for the sake of completeness. It's about Laura, a young newlywed girl with burning pains in her feet that may or may not be psychosomatic. The story describes an entire Sunday, beginning from when she wakes up.Dressing for church, having breakfast, going to church. It describes the complete church service as well as the features of the interior of the church. And so on through lunch and going up for a nap.Throughout this recitation of the entire day, we are treated to Laura's thoughts and insecurities about how she needs to be a good and grateful wife, which turns out to be a real strain on her emotionally.
Who Lived and Died Believing
2.5
This is another one I didn't care for and finished just for the sake of completeness. It's about a woman in a hospital and the nurse who cares for her. It appears to be a mental hospital rather than a general hospital. I dislike getting inside the minds of people who are unstable, and I'm not fond of hospitals, so this was not a good fit for me. There were two separate paragraphs in the story that I really liked, and of course neither of them were about the hospital. One is a perfect evocation of a drugstore with a soda fountain. I could feel what it would have been like in 1942, when the story was written. The other paragraph is about a drive the nurse takes with her boyfriend out into the country on a hot night, describing the varying strengths of the smell of honeysuckle. I'm discovering this is what I enjoy about Hale's writing. She can summon a scene with just a few simple sentences and make you see and feel it.
Someday I'll Find You...
3 stars
There's not much to this story plottily speaking. Mr. Burns is a Hollywood writer who is in a desert sanatorium, but has recovered enough that he should go home. He's enjoying himself too much there, and doesn't want to leave. In town one afternoon he encounters an old lover, and they sit in a bar and hash over old times and what has become of them since they last saw each other. The dialogue between these two really felt like a movie scene to me. I could picture it in a film, if you had the right actors from the 1940s giving it the proper dramatic effect.
On the Beach
3 stars
A woman takes her son to the beach on a beautiful day. She has trouble relaxing because she can't stop thinking about the H-Bomb and how it would annihilate the world. A timely topic when the story was written in 1952. The hydrogen bomb seemed very threatening in that era, in a way no previous threat could match.
Inside
4 stars
This is an odd little short piece, but it struck my fancy. It's only about four pages, and seems to come from the author's lived experience. It describes a road trip from New England to Virginia, explaining the things she doesn't like about superhighways. She dislikes the impersonal nature of them, the speed, and especially the noise. I thought it was cute the way she told exactly how much she paid for everything--cigarettes, motel room, hamburger, ice cream cone, chicken dinner. Those 1953 prices look good to me!
The Empress's Ring
4 stars
I enjoyed the nostalgic charm of this piece. This is another one that seems to be an autobiographical vignette rather than a piece of fiction. She tells about when she was a girl and her aunt gave her a ring that had once belonged to an Austrian empress. She lost the ring in a sand pile, and even as an adult she never quite got over the loss. I loved the description of her makeshift playhouse that used to be the milk room of a dairy farm, and how she longed for a miniature tea set with rosebuds, like the neighbor girl had.
The Bubble
3 stars
I couldn't quite figure out what was the point of this story, except maybe something about time and the way it rushes on. A young woman has a baby, and for a brief period she feels like time is moving backward. She wishes she could figure out how to make that happen again. I think. Hmmph.
Miss August
2 stars
Nancy Hale was a bit fixated on mental hospitals and sanatoria. This one takes place in a sanatorium where a new nurse named Miss August has arrived. Miss August wants to go to India and start an ashram. The patients don't like her because she is German and because she's not a pleasant person. Eventually there is a confrontation. This one didn't do anything for me. Pfffft.
How Would You Like to Be Born...
3 stars
Florrie is an old lady who is all alone in the world now that her bossy sister has died. They were from an upper class family, but all the money seems to be gone. Florrie wants so much for the working class people to like her, but they mock her posh accent and mannerisms. She finally learns what it feels like to be vulnerable, and develops a little compassion for those born into unfortunate circumstances.
Outside
4 stars
Nancy Hale seemed to be aiming this story at a certain class of uppity "arty" people who think they're superior to what they call "normal" people. They invite a few "normal" (read: inferior) people to their parties, apparently just to appear magnanimous. What elevated this story for me was the way she described things the young girl, Phoebe, is seeing around her, as if she is learning to see as an artist does. The vivid, painterly writing is quite lovely.
A Slow Boat to China
4 stars
This is a poignant (but not maudlin) story about a woman dropping off her son for his last year of boarding school. She's brisk and efficient, an old hand at this process, no lingering, no tears. She contrasts herself with the nervous and emotional mothers of the new boys, and she's quite self-congratulatory. But on the drive home, she remembers a specific day when her son was much younger, and the tears flow. She realizes she's more sentimental than she thought, and it does her good to let herself feel that tug of loss from leaving her son.
Flotsam
4.5 stars
This is a tender story about a little boy who spends the day with his grandmother because his mother has to take care of divorce papers. They window shop, talk about why his parents are divorcing, and then grandmother gets nostalgic and tells about her younger days with grandfather. They end up having an unplanned little adventure. All very sweet and charming, but never treacly.
Rich People
5 stars
I gave this one five stars because it felt like a novel in miniature form. In the space of about 20 pages, you get the full arc of a disappointed woman's life. This young woman grows up in a family that is dedicated to austerity and healthful practices. They're sort of what we would have called "granolas" back a few years ago. Her parents scotch the one opportunity she might have to marry a very wealthy man. It seems, though, that it might be just as much her fault as theirs, due to her pride and impulsivity. The story was written in 1960, but the woman is looking back in time to the 1920s or 1930s. Hale includes some of the abbreviations that were used in that era, which I found entertaining. Girls who didn't get a husband after their coming out were called L.O.P.H., meaning a Left On Papa's Handser.
Sunday Lunch
3.5 stars
All of the main characters in this story are irritating (yes, even the clergyman). But there's a clever dynamic playing out among them, and Hale orchestrates it well. We have the clergyman, Mr. Watson, who has decided he is going to practice "being all things to all men." His manner of doing so makes him feel almost clairvoyant. It's as if he can tune in and actually be the person he is talking to or observing, and then perceive something that is going to happen to them. He watches the interplay and sneaky resentment between Mrs. Beneker and her son Alec. He gets a vision of them in a certain future situation, which turns out to closely resemble a secret Mrs. Beneker thinks she has kept from her son.
The Most Elegant Drawing Room in Europe
4 stars
Two women, Emily and Persis, are on holiday in Venice, with Emily's crabby mother. Emily writes gushingly to a friend back in the U.S. about how glamorous and lovely everything is. They sashay around town with the Countess, and are swept up in the magic of it all. Then they discover that the Countess is not quite as gracious as she appears, and the vacation loses some of its sparkle.
This story was written in 1966, and I thought it was funny that Emily and Persis think of themselves as "old maids" when they're only in their late thirties.
The Earliest Dreams
5 stars
If you aspire to write exquisite descriptive prose about ordinary events, you'll want to study this little gem. It's written in the second person, as if Nancy Hale is talking to the little girl she was in the early 1900s. She's tucked up in bed while her parents are having a dinner party downstairs. She describes the sounds she hears, her perceptions of what's happening downstairs, and the thoughts she has about the animals out in the snowy woods. This one's a four-page masterpiece.
The Double House
3 stars
This is a deftly written but disturbing story about how closely children watch and tune in to the moods of their parents. When things are difficult, they desperately want confirmation that the adults are optimistic and confident. The boy in this story is terrified by his father's despair.
Midsummer
3.5 stars
This is an understated depiction of a spoiled and sheltered sixteen-year-old girl in the throes of her first real infatuation. She, of course, thinks it is love. All of her thoughts and emotions are dramatic and absolute, and she's constantly restless and unsettled by these new sensations. Her inner landscape mirrors the sultry and unyielding New England summer. The fellow in question is beneath her station, and thus ultimately unattainable.
To the North
3 stars
I wondered why Hale chose to write this story. She must have had some connection to Finnish people in the northeastern U.S. This is about a boy who, from infancy, spends his summers on the coast in a place where Finnish people live year round. There is a class divide, and the summer people don't associate with the Finns. Except for Jack. He feels more comfortable with the Finns than with his own people, and spends every moment he can with them every summer.
Crimson Autumn
4 stars
Melissa, a post-debutante young lady, basks in the love of Davis, a popular Harvard football player. He's extremely energetic, what we would today call hyperactive, and he consumes all the oxygen in the room with his exuberance and charisma. Melissa adores him, but he exhausts her. What I found interesting here was the role of the third person in this relationship. Richard is Davis's best friend since childhood. He sort of serves as Davis's unofficial footman and chauffeur and general dogsbody. It never occurs to Melissa, young and foolish as she is, that Richard will someday go off and have a life of his own. She seems to think, consciously or not, that always having Davis will also mean always having Richard. It's the threesome she likes, but I don't think she recognizes the dynamic among the three of them. Richard is the presence that calms and balances Davis, sometimes seemingly there and not there at the same time. When Richard moves on, that role will shift to Melissa, and I doubt she's up to it.
That Woman
3.5 stars
This story highlights the parochialism of the American South in the early to mid-twentieth century. A Yankee woman moves to a southern town where available men are in demand. She befriends a woman who has been shunned by other women in town. Outcast for the offense of having had too many husbands. As if she has hogged up more than her fair share of a scarce resource.
A Place to Hide
3 stars
This is more a vignette than a story, and seems to be autobiographical. It describes visits to someone named Uncle Paul who grows his own food and knits washcloths for soldiers. This one shows its age in its reference to "the World War". It was written in 1940, so the Second World War had not yet been designated as such. "The World War" was the one from 1914 to 1918.
Book Review
4 stars
This one was appealing to me because it incorporates real events that were contemporary at the time the story was written (1941). The story is set at a dinner table where a discussion begins about Hemingway's latest novel. (Not mentioned by name, but it is clearly For Whom the Bell Tolls.) A heated argument ensues about the Spanish Civil War, Franco, Communists and Fascists.There is a character who is said to be based on H.L. Mencken. Said character is described as having "a brown face, like a monkey, with broad thick lips, and thick hair parted in the middle." So yeah, I can see the possibility: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._L._M...
I liked the way the woman in the discussion did not back down. She stood up for her viewpoint right on through to the end.
Those Are as Brothers
4 stars
There are a couple of things going on here. There is Mrs. Mason, a recently divorced woman with two children. She is plagued by fear caused by whatever happened with her ex-husband. She feels she can never really relax or learn to trust again. "Nobody could help, because nobody could possibly understand the irrationality, the uncontrollability, of fear when it was like this, in the blood."
The second thread of the story involves two German refugees, one a Jew, and one not. The story was written in 1941, and it's interesting to see how contemporaneous events associated with WWII were incorporated. The U.S. had not yet entered the war when Hale wrote this story.
The Marching Feet
4 stars
The casual conversation in this piece may be appalling to readers in 2019, but I think it was appalling to Nancy Hale in 1941. She seems to have had a beef with the parochialism and prejudice of people in the Southern U.S. It seems the purpose of this very short piece is to show how southern women spoke so disparagingly about black people and Jews, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to talk about human beings that way. When an actual Jewish woman enters the picture, they condescend to her, and seem to trivialize what the Jewish people in Europe were enduring at the time.
Sunday--1913
2 stars
I didn't care for this one. I felt agitated while reading it, and only finished it for the sake of completeness. It's about Laura, a young newlywed girl with burning pains in her feet that may or may not be psychosomatic. The story describes an entire Sunday, beginning from when she wakes up.Dressing for church, having breakfast, going to church. It describes the complete church service as well as the features of the interior of the church. And so on through lunch and going up for a nap.Throughout this recitation of the entire day, we are treated to Laura's thoughts and insecurities about how she needs to be a good and grateful wife, which turns out to be a real strain on her emotionally.
Who Lived and Died Believing
2.5
This is another one I didn't care for and finished just for the sake of completeness. It's about a woman in a hospital and the nurse who cares for her. It appears to be a mental hospital rather than a general hospital. I dislike getting inside the minds of people who are unstable, and I'm not fond of hospitals, so this was not a good fit for me. There were two separate paragraphs in the story that I really liked, and of course neither of them were about the hospital. One is a perfect evocation of a drugstore with a soda fountain. I could feel what it would have been like in 1942, when the story was written. The other paragraph is about a drive the nurse takes with her boyfriend out into the country on a hot night, describing the varying strengths of the smell of honeysuckle. I'm discovering this is what I enjoy about Hale's writing. She can summon a scene with just a few simple sentences and make you see and feel it.
Someday I'll Find You...
3 stars
There's not much to this story plottily speaking. Mr. Burns is a Hollywood writer who is in a desert sanatorium, but has recovered enough that he should go home. He's enjoying himself too much there, and doesn't want to leave. In town one afternoon he encounters an old lover, and they sit in a bar and hash over old times and what has become of them since they last saw each other. The dialogue between these two really felt like a movie scene to me. I could picture it in a film, if you had the right actors from the 1940s giving it the proper dramatic effect.
On the Beach
3 stars
A woman takes her son to the beach on a beautiful day. She has trouble relaxing because she can't stop thinking about the H-Bomb and how it would annihilate the world. A timely topic when the story was written in 1952. The hydrogen bomb seemed very threatening in that era, in a way no previous threat could match.
Inside
4 stars
This is an odd little short piece, but it struck my fancy. It's only about four pages, and seems to come from the author's lived experience. It describes a road trip from New England to Virginia, explaining the things she doesn't like about superhighways. She dislikes the impersonal nature of them, the speed, and especially the noise. I thought it was cute the way she told exactly how much she paid for everything--cigarettes, motel room, hamburger, ice cream cone, chicken dinner. Those 1953 prices look good to me!
The Empress's Ring
4 stars
I enjoyed the nostalgic charm of this piece. This is another one that seems to be an autobiographical vignette rather than a piece of fiction. She tells about when she was a girl and her aunt gave her a ring that had once belonged to an Austrian empress. She lost the ring in a sand pile, and even as an adult she never quite got over the loss. I loved the description of her makeshift playhouse that used to be the milk room of a dairy farm, and how she longed for a miniature tea set with rosebuds, like the neighbor girl had.
The Bubble
3 stars
I couldn't quite figure out what was the point of this story, except maybe something about time and the way it rushes on. A young woman has a baby, and for a brief period she feels like time is moving backward. She wishes she could figure out how to make that happen again. I think. Hmmph.
Miss August
2 stars
Nancy Hale was a bit fixated on mental hospitals and sanatoria. This one takes place in a sanatorium where a new nurse named Miss August has arrived. Miss August wants to go to India and start an ashram. The patients don't like her because she is German and because she's not a pleasant person. Eventually there is a confrontation. This one didn't do anything for me. Pfffft.
How Would You Like to Be Born...
3 stars
Florrie is an old lady who is all alone in the world now that her bossy sister has died. They were from an upper class family, but all the money seems to be gone. Florrie wants so much for the working class people to like her, but they mock her posh accent and mannerisms. She finally learns what it feels like to be vulnerable, and develops a little compassion for those born into unfortunate circumstances.
Outside
4 stars
Nancy Hale seemed to be aiming this story at a certain class of uppity "arty" people who think they're superior to what they call "normal" people. They invite a few "normal" (read: inferior) people to their parties, apparently just to appear magnanimous. What elevated this story for me was the way she described things the young girl, Phoebe, is seeing around her, as if she is learning to see as an artist does. The vivid, painterly writing is quite lovely.
A Slow Boat to China
4 stars
This is a poignant (but not maudlin) story about a woman dropping off her son for his last year of boarding school. She's brisk and efficient, an old hand at this process, no lingering, no tears. She contrasts herself with the nervous and emotional mothers of the new boys, and she's quite self-congratulatory. But on the drive home, she remembers a specific day when her son was much younger, and the tears flow. She realizes she's more sentimental than she thought, and it does her good to let herself feel that tug of loss from leaving her son.
Flotsam
4.5 stars
This is a tender story about a little boy who spends the day with his grandmother because his mother has to take care of divorce papers. They window shop, talk about why his parents are divorcing, and then grandmother gets nostalgic and tells about her younger days with grandfather. They end up having an unplanned little adventure. All very sweet and charming, but never treacly.
Rich People
5 stars
I gave this one five stars because it felt like a novel in miniature form. In the space of about 20 pages, you get the full arc of a disappointed woman's life. This young woman grows up in a family that is dedicated to austerity and healthful practices. They're sort of what we would have called "granolas" back a few years ago. Her parents scotch the one opportunity she might have to marry a very wealthy man. It seems, though, that it might be just as much her fault as theirs, due to her pride and impulsivity. The story was written in 1960, but the woman is looking back in time to the 1920s or 1930s. Hale includes some of the abbreviations that were used in that era, which I found entertaining. Girls who didn't get a husband after their coming out were called L.O.P.H., meaning a Left On Papa's Handser.
Sunday Lunch
3.5 stars
All of the main characters in this story are irritating (yes, even the clergyman). But there's a clever dynamic playing out among them, and Hale orchestrates it well. We have the clergyman, Mr. Watson, who has decided he is going to practice "being all things to all men." His manner of doing so makes him feel almost clairvoyant. It's as if he can tune in and actually be the person he is talking to or observing, and then perceive something that is going to happen to them. He watches the interplay and sneaky resentment between Mrs. Beneker and her son Alec. He gets a vision of them in a certain future situation, which turns out to closely resemble a secret Mrs. Beneker thinks she has kept from her son.
The Most Elegant Drawing Room in Europe
4 stars
Two women, Emily and Persis, are on holiday in Venice, with Emily's crabby mother. Emily writes gushingly to a friend back in the U.S. about how glamorous and lovely everything is. They sashay around town with the Countess, and are swept up in the magic of it all. Then they discover that the Countess is not quite as gracious as she appears, and the vacation loses some of its sparkle.
This story was written in 1966, and I thought it was funny that Emily and Persis think of themselves as "old maids" when they're only in their late thirties.
September 12, 2019
What a stunning collection of short fiction! I truly enjoyed every one. Groff did an excellent job introducing and arranging this collection of 25 stories by the incredible talented late Nancy Hale, a writer who has vastly been forgotten.
•••
In these stories we meet characters that are so utterly human, beautiful and flawed, haunted and real as they try to navigate their contemporary American lives. Even though these were written years ago I found them ever so relevant today. With themes of marriage, motherhood, prejudice, childhood, desire, and more. Hale was an incredibly talented writer. Hale's stories are so astute and intelligently written. And her writing is beautiful and vivid.
•••
I definitely reccomend checking this collection out. Wheather you read a lot of short stories or not. Her writing is too good to pass up. Available September 24th.
•
Thank you to @libraryofamerica for #gifting me this beautiful copy opinions are my own.
•
For more of my book content check out instagram.com/bookalong
•••
In these stories we meet characters that are so utterly human, beautiful and flawed, haunted and real as they try to navigate their contemporary American lives. Even though these were written years ago I found them ever so relevant today. With themes of marriage, motherhood, prejudice, childhood, desire, and more. Hale was an incredibly talented writer. Hale's stories are so astute and intelligently written. And her writing is beautiful and vivid.
•••
I definitely reccomend checking this collection out. Wheather you read a lot of short stories or not. Her writing is too good to pass up. Available September 24th.
•
Thank you to @libraryofamerica for #gifting me this beautiful copy opinions are my own.
•
For more of my book content check out instagram.com/bookalong
December 29, 2019
This is an amazing collection of short stories by Nancy Hale written during a time long forgotten, that needs to be reintroduced to this new generation of readers. This was exceptionally edited and compiled by Lauren Groff who also writes a beautiful introduction and bio.
Groff’s introduction on Hale gives readers a better perspective of that era and what to expect of the world and culture of that time. Hale’s stories were written between the 1930s to 1960's, when most writers of that era wrote of the "heroic or well-off white man", and Hale insists on writing about the importance of the lives of ordinary woman and children.
Hale's writing will stay with you long after you have read it and will impact you in some way or another. Though the book is an easy read, I intentionally savored it for a few days reading the stories and enjoying them one at a time as if savoring a delicious rare treat. Hale's prose is elegant and her topics are brave speaking of abortion, racism, fascism - some of the issues at that time which is relevant to our world now. I am very excited to have been introduced to such an exceptional writer that without this book, her voice would not have been heard by many today.
I highly recommend this book for an amazing collection of masterful writing that is a must read for anyone calling themselves a contemporary avid reader.
*of note "Proceeds from the sale of this book will be used to support the mission of Library of America, a non profit organization that champions the nation's cultural heritage by publishing America's greatest writing in authoritative new editions and providing resources for readers to explore this rich, living legacy".
Groff’s introduction on Hale gives readers a better perspective of that era and what to expect of the world and culture of that time. Hale’s stories were written between the 1930s to 1960's, when most writers of that era wrote of the "heroic or well-off white man", and Hale insists on writing about the importance of the lives of ordinary woman and children.
Hale's writing will stay with you long after you have read it and will impact you in some way or another. Though the book is an easy read, I intentionally savored it for a few days reading the stories and enjoying them one at a time as if savoring a delicious rare treat. Hale's prose is elegant and her topics are brave speaking of abortion, racism, fascism - some of the issues at that time which is relevant to our world now. I am very excited to have been introduced to such an exceptional writer that without this book, her voice would not have been heard by many today.
I highly recommend this book for an amazing collection of masterful writing that is a must read for anyone calling themselves a contemporary avid reader.
*of note "Proceeds from the sale of this book will be used to support the mission of Library of America, a non profit organization that champions the nation's cultural heritage by publishing America's greatest writing in authoritative new editions and providing resources for readers to explore this rich, living legacy".
November 13, 2019
Thanks to Lauren Groff, Nancy Hale, who disappeared from the canon of literature, can be enjoyed again in this story collection. She published many stories in the New Yorker, etc. and this assortment is fascinating. I've found it's never great for me to read one story after another in a collection - burn out sets in, a desire to be through to the end - so I stopped, read some other books, and then returned to Hale's stories. They are engaging, intriguing, beautifully written, and provide a unique eye on a world long gone. It's worth reading Groff's introduction for a fuller picture of Hale and what she accomplished as a writer.
October 4, 2022
Absolutely amazing collection of short stories by late author Nancy Hale. They ring so true to the human experience it literally hurts, even decades after publication. Hale manages to convey even the most complicated of emotions and characters without relying too heavily on plot or details - a true master of the short story. I cannot count how many times I smiled or cried.
I also really enjoyed the editor’s note at the beginning, which gave an overview of the author’s upbringing. The editor clearly has a passion for Hale’s work and has done a fantastic job arranging & carrying it on.
I also really enjoyed the editor’s note at the beginning, which gave an overview of the author’s upbringing. The editor clearly has a passion for Hale’s work and has done a fantastic job arranging & carrying it on.
August 7, 2020
Short stories from the 1940s and 50s with mostly domestic themes. The writing is very good, I guess I just got tired of all the 'lives of quiet desperation' and unfulfilled housewives. An overload of depression and suicide.
May 16, 2023
Finding feminist American authors like Nancy Hale, who penned these gems eight and nine decades ago, reminds me that the strong, independent voices were always there - just ignored.
February 4, 2025
3.75 stars. This book took me a while to get through and another while to write a review for, but here we are:
There's nothing like a collection of short stories from six to eight decades ago to remind one how much the world has changed and how much our emotions have not. While some of the stories stood out to me (The Double House, That Woman, Book Review, Inside, A Slow Boat to China, and Flotsam), others were forgettable. I could have done with a few fewer sanitarium stories. Nonetheless, there were definitely some memorable, well-written, and thought-provoking, gems- many of which made points that are unfortunately applicable to the modern social climate- that made this book worth the read.
There's nothing like a collection of short stories from six to eight decades ago to remind one how much the world has changed and how much our emotions have not. While some of the stories stood out to me (The Double House, That Woman, Book Review, Inside, A Slow Boat to China, and Flotsam), others were forgettable. I could have done with a few fewer sanitarium stories. Nonetheless, there were definitely some memorable, well-written, and thought-provoking, gems- many of which made points that are unfortunately applicable to the modern social climate- that made this book worth the read.
April 7, 2020
Nancy Hale enjoyed a very positive reputation as an editor, short story writer and winner of 10 O Henry awards back in the mid 1900s. But, like many other women of the time, she fell into anonymity and never achieved the notoriety or attention as did her male counterparts, such as Fitzgerald and Hemingway.
Luckily, that should change now that Lauren Groff has compiled a robust selection of Hale’s autobiographical short stories and provides biographical and structural context to these writings in her impressive introduction.
From an unhappy childhood as the only offspring of two blue blood self absorbed parents, a number of marriages and a mental breakdown, each story reveals a little more of Hale, her life and her feelings about woman’s place in society.
Her writing is crisp, thoughtful, to the point and often gorgeous and occasionally humorous. My favorite sentence which had me laughing out loud was “There were hairs growing out of her chin, but they in no way diminished the impressiveness of her appearance”.
This is a treasure to be savored.
Luckily, that should change now that Lauren Groff has compiled a robust selection of Hale’s autobiographical short stories and provides biographical and structural context to these writings in her impressive introduction.
From an unhappy childhood as the only offspring of two blue blood self absorbed parents, a number of marriages and a mental breakdown, each story reveals a little more of Hale, her life and her feelings about woman’s place in society.
Her writing is crisp, thoughtful, to the point and often gorgeous and occasionally humorous. My favorite sentence which had me laughing out loud was “There were hairs growing out of her chin, but they in no way diminished the impressiveness of her appearance”.
This is a treasure to be savored.
April 14, 2021
I expected more from this collection of short stories. I think there is a lot of better fiction describing the 1940's and 1950's than these. Hale wrote well, and has an excellent eye for detail, but few of the plots worked for me, and too many depended on a surprise ending.
These stories in general border on depressing but never quite get there. Having just finished the book, I cannot remember any story about a family which functioned well. There is a lot of parent-child tension and resentment (mostly, but not all, mother-daughter). While there is variety in location and characters, there was still a sameness to the stories.
The result is a collection which is a bit unmemorable and a book which is longer than it should be.
These stories in general border on depressing but never quite get there. Having just finished the book, I cannot remember any story about a family which functioned well. There is a lot of parent-child tension and resentment (mostly, but not all, mother-daughter). While there is variety in location and characters, there was still a sameness to the stories.
The result is a collection which is a bit unmemorable and a book which is longer than it should be.
October 24, 2023
Nancy Hale? Never heard of her...which is odd considering that, as I learned, she was one of the most published, most accomplished American short story writers of the mid-20th century. Fortunately--very fortunately--this collection reintroduces her best work. Hale wrote of women, not all of them initially sympathetic but each ultimately recognizable. She takes her characters through surprising twists, disquieting turns, all by way of a finely tuned craft. Here's hoping that her stories find their way back on to bookshelves, not to be forgotten again.
December 27, 2019
Lush prose but the stories feel dated.
May 17, 2020
I had not heard of Nancy Hale before Lauren Groff collected twenty five of her stories written between 1934 and 1966 and had them published in this collection last year. I'm in debt to Groff as these are outstanding stories. The stories are arranged in chronological order so you can see Hale evolve. They also show that Hale was ahead of her time, many of her female characters chafed under gender expectations, class restrictions and narrow political views. But they aren't polemic, they are about sympathetic characters who face interesting situations. Some of my favorites:
In "Midsummer" 16 year old Victoria spends the summer with her Nana and household servants while her parents take an extended trip to Europe. Victoria begins a flirtation with her riding instructor which upsets the country club set who write to her parents causing them to return home and lay down the law to Victoria. What happens to the riding instructor is an afterthought which is an example of Hale's subtle writing, here telling us about the roles and priorities of class.
"To the North" starts with summers at a beach town that is divided between wealthy Yankees who vacation there and the Finns, hard working fisherman, their wives, servants to the vacationing Yankees. Jack largely abandons his Yankee parents and friends during these vacations preferring the company of the native Finns. As he grows older he works with the Finns, is invited to their saunas, their family dinners and parties until he becomes romantically involved. The protective Finn boys close ranks against their view of Jack's attempt at a summer fling with one of their own and Jack stops his visits. A chance encounter after Jack finishes medical school leads him back.
A single, Northern woman moves to a small Southern town in "That Woman." She strafes against the social life of country club dances and woman's teas and is curious about the beautiful woman who is scorned by the town. They eventually become friends even though the Northern woman is threatened with becoming an outcast herself and she then learns a nuanced truth about the town.
"Those are Brothers" was written in 1941 before American entry into World War II during isolationism and anti-semitism. But Hale writes a story sympathetic to a German Jewish refuge working as a caretaker whose family members are in concentration camps and is scathing toward the wealthy homeowner who reports him to authorities after she did not think he painted her fence correctly.
I wondered if "Some Day I'll Find You" was inspired by F Scott Fitzgerald's travails with alcoholism, sanitariums and lost love as the main character exhibited all of those traits.
A "Slow Boat to China" tells of a mother's drive to take her son back to his prep school after summer break. Once they arrive, her ruminations about the school, her son, the new parents dropping off their sons for the first year weave together a charming story again punctuated by nuances on class and privelege.
There are so many favorites I could include but the bottom line is that I recommend you read this collection and discover this forgotten, talented writer
In "Midsummer" 16 year old Victoria spends the summer with her Nana and household servants while her parents take an extended trip to Europe. Victoria begins a flirtation with her riding instructor which upsets the country club set who write to her parents causing them to return home and lay down the law to Victoria. What happens to the riding instructor is an afterthought which is an example of Hale's subtle writing, here telling us about the roles and priorities of class.
"To the North" starts with summers at a beach town that is divided between wealthy Yankees who vacation there and the Finns, hard working fisherman, their wives, servants to the vacationing Yankees. Jack largely abandons his Yankee parents and friends during these vacations preferring the company of the native Finns. As he grows older he works with the Finns, is invited to their saunas, their family dinners and parties until he becomes romantically involved. The protective Finn boys close ranks against their view of Jack's attempt at a summer fling with one of their own and Jack stops his visits. A chance encounter after Jack finishes medical school leads him back.
A single, Northern woman moves to a small Southern town in "That Woman." She strafes against the social life of country club dances and woman's teas and is curious about the beautiful woman who is scorned by the town. They eventually become friends even though the Northern woman is threatened with becoming an outcast herself and she then learns a nuanced truth about the town.
"Those are Brothers" was written in 1941 before American entry into World War II during isolationism and anti-semitism. But Hale writes a story sympathetic to a German Jewish refuge working as a caretaker whose family members are in concentration camps and is scathing toward the wealthy homeowner who reports him to authorities after she did not think he painted her fence correctly.
I wondered if "Some Day I'll Find You" was inspired by F Scott Fitzgerald's travails with alcoholism, sanitariums and lost love as the main character exhibited all of those traits.
A "Slow Boat to China" tells of a mother's drive to take her son back to his prep school after summer break. Once they arrive, her ruminations about the school, her son, the new parents dropping off their sons for the first year weave together a charming story again punctuated by nuances on class and privelege.
There are so many favorites I could include but the bottom line is that I recommend you read this collection and discover this forgotten, talented writer
August 23, 2023
Where the Light Falls is a fine collection of short stories by Nancy Hale which were published between 1934 and 1966. She is also a novelist and this collection has made me also want to read her longer work. These stories have characters and families who are ordinary people, but face challenges that resonate with contemporary readers. She is also very good at establishing a clear sense of place in these works, which are set in areas which include New England, New York City and Virginia among others.
A good example is the story "Flotsam," which is set in Rockport, MA. I read the story just before a return visit to the small town on Cape Ann in the northeastern part of Massachusetts. In the story, Hale draws a picture of an early fall day and quickly pencils in the people roaming the town as the tourist season ebbs and details about the types of items that are now on sale in shops. Carolyn Moss is caring for her seven-year old grandson while her daughter is in Boston to arrange for divorce papers, but her young looks cause people to mistake her for being the boy Marcus's mother. As the story proceeds, Carolyn asks in shops where a package store would be and finds out the Rockport is a dry town. She and the boy try to catch a bus to nearby Gloucester and are approached by a man who provides local boat rides and offers an inexpensive round trip boat ride. Carolyn hesitantly agrees, though the ship captain is clearly of a lower class than those to which she is accustomed. She and the boy take the ride and enjoy themselves and Carolyn experiences some revelations about why Marcus's mom and dad are really splitting up.
This is just one of many remarkable stories in this collection. Like her contemporary, Wallace Stegner, Hale is very observant about people and places and builds stories where we sense the uniqueness of certain places and how they influence the people who live there and in some cases are hurled in specific directions by the culture to which they are bound.
Another example is "Book Review," where a woman is talking to a man about Ernest Hemingway's novel For Whom the Bell Tolls, set during the Spanish civil war. The woman admits to having been a writer before she got married and the man asks if she'd read Hemingway's latest novel. She said she had and said it was magnificent. His response was that the book was filth. This turns into a discussion about politics, as the man thinks all of the peasants in the book are communists and are rebelling against Franco, who he feels is a reasonable leader. The conversation continues and gets ugly, as the man makes the case that the Spanish revolution was totally different than the earlier French and American revolutions. The story is relevant to conversations that are still taking place in the United States, where advocates of different political positions talk past other, just as these characters do.
In summary, I really enjoyed this book and found that these stories still speak to contemporary readers. I reviewed the stories after I finished the book and easily noted more than ten which had worked very well for me as a reader.
A good example is the story "Flotsam," which is set in Rockport, MA. I read the story just before a return visit to the small town on Cape Ann in the northeastern part of Massachusetts. In the story, Hale draws a picture of an early fall day and quickly pencils in the people roaming the town as the tourist season ebbs and details about the types of items that are now on sale in shops. Carolyn Moss is caring for her seven-year old grandson while her daughter is in Boston to arrange for divorce papers, but her young looks cause people to mistake her for being the boy Marcus's mother. As the story proceeds, Carolyn asks in shops where a package store would be and finds out the Rockport is a dry town. She and the boy try to catch a bus to nearby Gloucester and are approached by a man who provides local boat rides and offers an inexpensive round trip boat ride. Carolyn hesitantly agrees, though the ship captain is clearly of a lower class than those to which she is accustomed. She and the boy take the ride and enjoy themselves and Carolyn experiences some revelations about why Marcus's mom and dad are really splitting up.
This is just one of many remarkable stories in this collection. Like her contemporary, Wallace Stegner, Hale is very observant about people and places and builds stories where we sense the uniqueness of certain places and how they influence the people who live there and in some cases are hurled in specific directions by the culture to which they are bound.
Another example is "Book Review," where a woman is talking to a man about Ernest Hemingway's novel For Whom the Bell Tolls, set during the Spanish civil war. The woman admits to having been a writer before she got married and the man asks if she'd read Hemingway's latest novel. She said she had and said it was magnificent. His response was that the book was filth. This turns into a discussion about politics, as the man thinks all of the peasants in the book are communists and are rebelling against Franco, who he feels is a reasonable leader. The conversation continues and gets ugly, as the man makes the case that the Spanish revolution was totally different than the earlier French and American revolutions. The story is relevant to conversations that are still taking place in the United States, where advocates of different political positions talk past other, just as these characters do.
In summary, I really enjoyed this book and found that these stories still speak to contemporary readers. I reviewed the stories after I finished the book and easily noted more than ten which had worked very well for me as a reader.
October 12, 2025
Groff has done three services for contemporary readers: rediscovering the moving stories of Nancy Hale, carefully choosing to collect 25 from throughout her long career for republishing, and introducing the collection and its individual works in an excellent essay hinting at each story's essence and their link to Hale's own life. Anyone new to this author can skip Wikipedia and rely on Groff's introduction to tell all that is necessary - about Hale's life as a daughter of artists, model, woman's magazine writer and editor, New York Times reporter, wife and mother, mental patient, chronicler of privileged American life in Boston and NYC and Mr. Jefferson's Virginia, and author of several novels and plays and memoirs and children's books and nearly 200 published short stories.
Hale once had a dozen stories accepted by the New Yorker in a single 12-month period and over 80 in all, so much that she was virtually a regular columnist. Her stories excelled at expressing the depth of emotion felt by females restricted by parents or spouses or social expectations more broadly. "I specialize in women,” Miss Hale said, “because they are so mysterious to me. . . . they have no sense of security about their own personalities." The stories in this collection rarely feature adult males or first person narrators; they often highlight characters haunted by memories, as apparently the author herself was: as she told an interviewer, "I most want to write, it seems, about things that happened before I was 25."
Each story is thoughtfully and gracefully crafted, often reflecting the place or time of its origin. The earliest stories in the collection feature lonely, anxious children. Later stories from the 1940's, when Hale was living in Charlottesville, can turn explicitly political, often revealing in characters' anti-fascism their own unrecognized prejudices against Jews, foreigners, and blacks. One may be reminded of Joyce's outline of Dubliners as moving from childhood and adolescence to mature and public life.
Readers charmed by this collection and Hale's talent may well wonder at her disappearance from favor and visibility. Perhaps a devaluing of "women's fiction" or of the short story form is partly to blame. Or perhaps it is the stories' clear reflection of their moment in time and space that is off-putting for some. What immigrant or person of color would be charmed by these stories of privilege? Who would find it energizing or uplifting to read repeatedly about feeling trapped by husbands or mothers or memories? Those moved by Mme Bovary or The Yellow Wallpaper or The Awakening or even The Bell Jar will find in Hale another who writes with power and sympathy about the feminist mystique.
Hale once had a dozen stories accepted by the New Yorker in a single 12-month period and over 80 in all, so much that she was virtually a regular columnist. Her stories excelled at expressing the depth of emotion felt by females restricted by parents or spouses or social expectations more broadly. "I specialize in women,” Miss Hale said, “because they are so mysterious to me. . . . they have no sense of security about their own personalities." The stories in this collection rarely feature adult males or first person narrators; they often highlight characters haunted by memories, as apparently the author herself was: as she told an interviewer, "I most want to write, it seems, about things that happened before I was 25."
Each story is thoughtfully and gracefully crafted, often reflecting the place or time of its origin. The earliest stories in the collection feature lonely, anxious children. Later stories from the 1940's, when Hale was living in Charlottesville, can turn explicitly political, often revealing in characters' anti-fascism their own unrecognized prejudices against Jews, foreigners, and blacks. One may be reminded of Joyce's outline of Dubliners as moving from childhood and adolescence to mature and public life.
Readers charmed by this collection and Hale's talent may well wonder at her disappearance from favor and visibility. Perhaps a devaluing of "women's fiction" or of the short story form is partly to blame. Or perhaps it is the stories' clear reflection of their moment in time and space that is off-putting for some. What immigrant or person of color would be charmed by these stories of privilege? Who would find it energizing or uplifting to read repeatedly about feeling trapped by husbands or mothers or memories? Those moved by Mme Bovary or The Yellow Wallpaper or The Awakening or even The Bell Jar will find in Hale another who writes with power and sympathy about the feminist mystique.
August 12, 2025
Nancy Hale was once a literary force, an editor, short story writer, and winner of ten O. Henry Awards, whose work was celebrated in the pages of The New Yorker, Harper’s Bazaar, and The Saturday Evening Post. In the mid-20th century, she moved easily in the same rarefied literary circles as Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Porter. Yet, like too many women writers of her generation, her name gradually slipped into obscurity, her sharp, precise prose overshadowed by her male contemporaries.
That neglect may finally be corrected with Where the Light Falls, a superbly curated selection of Hale’s autobiographical short stories, chosen and introduced by Lauren Groff. Groff’s introduction does more than simply frame the work, it offers essential biographical and structural context, illuminating the relationship between Hale’s turbulent life and the recurring motifs in her fiction.
The stories reveal a life of both privilege and loneliness: an unhappy childhood as the only child of two wealthy, socially prominent but emotionally distant parents; multiple marriages; and a devastating mental breakdown. From these experiences, Hale crafted crystalline narratives that are neither confessional in the modern sense nor detached in the way her male peers often were. Instead, she writes from a place of keen observation, unflinching self-awareness, and a sly, understated wit.
Hale’s prose is crisp, elegant, and deeply attentive to the small gestures and details that define human relationships. Her humor is quiet but cutting as well.
The stories also trace a subtle but persistent interrogation of women’s place in society, what is expected of them, what is denied them, and how they navigate between the two. In Hale’s hands, these questions never become polemic; they emerge naturally from lived experience, refracted through carefully drawn characters and moments of piercing insight.
This is a book to savor, best read slowly so that each story can reveal its layers. While not every piece reaches the same level of brilliance, taken as a whole, Where the Light Falls is a striking reminder of a writer who deserves a place alongside the giants of her era. For readers who value precise, emotionally intelligent prose, and for those interested in restoring neglected voices to the literary conversation, this collection is a gift.
That neglect may finally be corrected with Where the Light Falls, a superbly curated selection of Hale’s autobiographical short stories, chosen and introduced by Lauren Groff. Groff’s introduction does more than simply frame the work, it offers essential biographical and structural context, illuminating the relationship between Hale’s turbulent life and the recurring motifs in her fiction.
The stories reveal a life of both privilege and loneliness: an unhappy childhood as the only child of two wealthy, socially prominent but emotionally distant parents; multiple marriages; and a devastating mental breakdown. From these experiences, Hale crafted crystalline narratives that are neither confessional in the modern sense nor detached in the way her male peers often were. Instead, she writes from a place of keen observation, unflinching self-awareness, and a sly, understated wit.
Hale’s prose is crisp, elegant, and deeply attentive to the small gestures and details that define human relationships. Her humor is quiet but cutting as well.
The stories also trace a subtle but persistent interrogation of women’s place in society, what is expected of them, what is denied them, and how they navigate between the two. In Hale’s hands, these questions never become polemic; they emerge naturally from lived experience, refracted through carefully drawn characters and moments of piercing insight.
This is a book to savor, best read slowly so that each story can reveal its layers. While not every piece reaches the same level of brilliance, taken as a whole, Where the Light Falls is a striking reminder of a writer who deserves a place alongside the giants of her era. For readers who value precise, emotionally intelligent prose, and for those interested in restoring neglected voices to the literary conversation, this collection is a gift.
February 22, 2020
I learned about this collection when listening to a podcast episode of Lauren Groff explaining her work on this edition of Nancy Hale's short fiction. I had never heard of Nancy Hale until then. I was intrigued by this elusive writer of the distant past and was eager to read her work. Some tales here are a bit too dull for my taste (Some Day I'll Find You), while others were captivating and haunting: The Earliest Dreams, about a boy listening to adults gathering in the dark, narrated in the second person POV; The Double House, about a boy who loses a deep part of himself; Midsummer, a tale about an adolescent girl's desires, narrated with gorgeous landscape setting; That Woman, a story about a presumed femme fatale; Sunday, a story about marriage and mundane expectations that are too eerie.
Other favorites: On the Beach; The Empress' Ring; The Bubble; Miss August; Outside.
I will say this, after reading Groff's Florida collection of short stories: I can definitely tell some of Hale's stories echo in Florida, particularly, the tales about the mother and her son, out on the beach. I can't quite put my finger on the similarities but it is definitely there, so palpable that I wanted to get the digital copy of Florida and look up some passages from Hale to see the overlap. It was uncanny to read Hale and then immediately say to myself, I've read this before...
Other favorites: On the Beach; The Empress' Ring; The Bubble; Miss August; Outside.
I will say this, after reading Groff's Florida collection of short stories: I can definitely tell some of Hale's stories echo in Florida, particularly, the tales about the mother and her son, out on the beach. I can't quite put my finger on the similarities but it is definitely there, so palpable that I wanted to get the digital copy of Florida and look up some passages from Hale to see the overlap. It was uncanny to read Hale and then immediately say to myself, I've read this before...
September 7, 2020
There is a very high level of writing craft throughout this collection, from the earliest stories to those that appear at the end, which may be reflective of Nancy Hale's stylistic prowess or Lauren Goff's editorial selectivity, although I suspect it's more of the former and that Goff's primary challenge was in deciding which gems to exclude. Although some reviewers opine that the stories seem dated or relevant primarily to the times and audiences targeted by the author, I enjoyed the view of a past era, particularly through Hale's very sharp and focused lens. At first glance, the stories may seem domestic or mundane, but the narrative perspective is often quirky, funny, subversive, tragic, or some strange combination of all of the above, such that a plot synopsis would not do any of them justice; it's the unique storytelling ability and unmistakable voice of the narrator that give them their resonance. I savored these stories, reading one, or at most two, at a sitting and then putting the book aside for a while before returning to it, the better to prolong the experience.
June 24, 2020
This was a really good collection spanning several decades. The author hints at many issues (world War, poverty and wealthy society, women's rights, and race) but doesn't take them head on. There are many instances of being the 'other' or out of place (race, class, sophistication) which kept reminding me of Carson Mccullers. Hale has a knack for repetition - the characters sometimes repeat another's turn of phrase or action/thought, and it's an endearing technique. There are also successful themes regarding maturing/consciousness, unity with the world, and disappointment upon reaching a long held goal.
June 19, 2023
A slice of life, a very specific slice of life. Nancy Hale was born into a wealthy, New England family. These stories are more like vignettes, examining the very specific mental trials and tribulations of young people with clueless, preoccupied parents (cruel mothers, absent fathers), being raised by a variety of servants or in elite boarding schools. One cannot help but feel that they are semi-autobiographical. I feel that they reveal some insight into the feeling of being lost, unhinged
in a life that the other 99% of the population envy for their privileges.
I personally thought the first story was brilliant, the ones that followed couldn’t compare.
in a life that the other 99% of the population envy for their privileges.
I personally thought the first story was brilliant, the ones that followed couldn’t compare.
December 4, 2019
I’m so grateful to Lauren Groff for helping make readers aware of these amazing short stories. I hope more people will read Nancy Hale’s beautifully written and insightful stories. My personal favorites from this book are:
The Double House
Midsummer
To the North
Crimson Autumn
That Woman
Sunday—1913
Outside
A Slow Boat to China
The Double House
Midsummer
To the North
Crimson Autumn
That Woman
Sunday—1913
Outside
A Slow Boat to China
June 6, 2023
How startling that a writer of this talent, with this much power of observation can simply disappear from the public consciousness!
These stories are really wonderful, not much in the way of plot, but beautifully written insights in the experiences of women and children during the early twentieth century. I’d love to see more of her work republished. Absolutely recommended!
These stories are really wonderful, not much in the way of plot, but beautifully written insights in the experiences of women and children during the early twentieth century. I’d love to see more of her work republished. Absolutely recommended!
September 15, 2024
My mom got this book for me at the library in Maryland. I thought of her a lot while reading these short stories, which mainly revolved around women, children, and relationships. Hale’s writing is a lovely style of prose and deep contemplation made prevalent through stories sometimes as short as four or five pages. Would recommend this a million times over.
February 23, 2020
I love reading stories that were contemporary at their time. Slices of life and culture and mundane details. These stories had it.
I don’t know if I have a favorite story, but the second one gutted me.
I don’t know if I have a favorite story, but the second one gutted me.
March 6, 2020
Marvelous stories. I had no clue she existed and how often she was published in the New Yorker from 1934 through 1960s. Lauren Groff has pulled together many of her stories here and made this wonderful writer available to a whole new group of readers.
June 16, 2020
“'Brave Girl,' he whispered. 'You fooled ‘em.' That was right. I had fooled them, fooled everybody. I had the victory, and it was here and now." (214)
“Glamour was what I needed to cope with my situation” (291)
“Glamour was what I needed to cope with my situation” (291)
January 9, 2022
Hale has a wonderful voice and there are some beautiful stories in this collection, but it lacks the coherence and cumulative impact of truly great short story collections like "Dubliners," "In Our Time," or "A Good Man is Hard to Find."
October 16, 2023
Nancy Hale was a prolific and successful writer who was alive in my very own lifetime but who has fallen completely out of public awareness. She should be brought back into public awareness posthaste. That is all.
January 20, 2024
Hale's writing is excellent and her characters feel very real. The stories are very slice of life and several are very good. The only downside to this collection is the stories and themes get repetitive.
August 3, 2025
Intriguing insider take on the demands of the female psyche when not fully allowed to participate in society or deemed capable of making decisions for themselves. The writing itself was like a river, it didn’t seem to be moving much but underneath the surface a lot was happening.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews