THOREAU'S LAUNDRY

by Ann Harleman

The twelve stories in Ann Harleman’s second fiction collection span a century (from 1911 to the present) and range over two continents. Her characters confront love and lossheartbreak, adultery, divorce, chronic degenerative illness, disability, and deathwithin a context of political and social upheaval. Their personal battles are intensified by the trials of their the onset of World War I, Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union, the Iron Curtain, the Cold War, the urban warfare in America’s inner cities, 9/11. Despite their often dire circumstances, Harleman’s characters manage to find moments of light and grace.

Genres: Short Stories

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Ann Harleman is the author of two story collections, THOREAU'S LAUNDRY, and HAPPINESS (which won the Iowa Short Fiction Award); and two novels, THE YEAR SHE DISAPPEARED, and BITTER LAKE. Among her awards are Guggenheim and Rockefeller fellowships, the Berlin Prize in Literature, the PEN Syndicated Fiction Award, and the O. Henry Award.

Ann was the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in linguistics from Princeton University, and she has lived and worked behind the Iron Curtain and (much more happily) in Italy.

After two decades teaching fiction writing at the Rhode Island School of Design, Ann is currently on the faculty of Brown University. She makes her home within sight of San Francisco Bay.

Reviews

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would highly recommend this volume to any lover of the short story form. Harlemen braids together interlocking stories from different eras, that are connected by family ties and place, especially the family ties and our need for that connection, whether of blood family or the family we choose. The title refers to the fact that the exemplar of solitariness and self-sufficiancy, HD Thoreau, sent his laundry home to his mother!