The Woman in the Woods: Linked Stories

by Ann Joslin Williams

Woman in the Woods is the winner of the 2005 Spokane Prize for Short Fiction.

Genres: Short Stories

208 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2006

About the author

Ann Joslin Williams is the author of the novels SKYLAND and DOWN FROM CASCOM MOUNTAIN, and a collection of linked short stories THE WOMAN in the WOODS. She is the recipient of awards from the National Endowment of the Arts, the Spokane Prize for Short Fiction, the New Hampshire Writers’ Project Literary Awards, and the Stegner Program at Stanford University. Her writing has appeared in many journals including The Sun, Carve, Ploughshares, The Missouri Review, The Iowa Review and elsewhere. She is an associate professor emerita of English at the University of New Hampshire.

Reviews

[Tim Null]

I feel an Ann Joslin Williams binge coming on. I've even downloaded one of her father's books.

[KJ Grow]

I think Ann Joslin Williams has to be one of the most under-read writers of American fiction. She exhibits such an acute sense of longing, grief, and empathy in her characters and masterfully holds them in her beautifully crafted prose. Not a word is wasted. And her deep connection to the landscape of New England is immersive.

I have the privilege of publishing Ann’s forthcoming novel, Skyland, in 2026, and it is my greatest hope that many more readers will discover and fall in love with this immensely talented author.

If you like New Yorker-level fiction such as Alice Munro or Lorrie Moore, I encourage you to read this collection, her novel Down from Cascom Mountain, and Skyland when it releases. You won’t be disappointed.

[Kayleigh Brennan]

Absolutely beautiful

[Leo W.]

I was drawn to this book out of admiration for her father's writing, but left with admiration of his daughter's.

Her father, Thomas Williams, is one of those great authors whose work is in danger of being forgotten, vastly under-appreciated to my mind.

[Allison Goldstein]

You know when you get completely absorbed into a book and perhaps a kind of life that you have no experience with becomes entirely familiar? Well, as a Florida girl who hasn't even been further up than Boston, I felt both at home and emotionally attached to this world of New Hampshire snow, hardcore camping, living in cabins, and making a life out in the woods. I could see every scene with perfect clarity and was left with that delightful mix of longing, peace, and curiosity about how these characters' lives would continue to unfold without me there watching.

I loved reading this book and as a personal side note worth mentioning, after hearing Anne talk about her difficulty dealing with one particular story "The Skater" and how several different endings and lots of rewrites occurred before this final printed version, I felt an almost perverse sense of relief having finally gotten to read it and discover just how the story should end. It was a very satisfying moment for me.

I also loved how the stories were all connected in such surprising ways and seeing them throughout different stages in their lives, how one story would help explain a decision made in another. really masterfully done. I kept waiting for a story about the dog and it never happened, which I think was also a great device. The rest I'll leave as a surprise to you.

[Christine]

I love the idea of linked stories, and I think Williams succeeds in keeping everything tied together imagistically as well as on character and thematic levels. And she knows how to turn a phrase.

[Marissa]

I enjoyed this book so much, I wanted to talk with the author. Read an Interview With Writer Ann Joslin Williams:
http://wordswithwriters.com/2010/03/2...

[Stephanie]

Beautiful and moving!

[Tony Rabig]

Beautifully done. Will be purchasing her novel, DOWN FROM CASCOM MOUNTAIN, later today and will add her name to my must-buy list.

[Emily]

Lovely. Haunting. Human. This collection is a beautiful work of art.

[Casey]

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