Gravity: Stories

by Erica Wagner

This collection of short stories ranges across space and time, and explores the loneliness of the human condition. The tales include the solitary astronomer whose desperation for another's touch leads to destruction, and the Pharaoh's daughter who sees her own death rising inexorably before her.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

231 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Erica Wagner is an American author and critic living in London. She is former literary editor of The Times.

She is the author of several books, including a collection of short stories, Gravity, and Ariel’s Gift: Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath and the Story of Birthday Letters, and the novel Seizure.

Her husband, Francis Gilbert, is author of I’m a Teacher, Get Me Out of Here!. She also reviews regularly for The New York Times. A judge for the Man Booker Prize in 2002 and 2014.

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An old girlfriend borrowed my copy of this and never gave it back. 'Please Don't', 'Pyramid' and 'Stealing' (which is a better story than Andre Dubus' similarly-themed 'The Fat Girl') still stand out. The comparison to Carver, and how Wagner's beautifully clear, still pools run deep, is apt.

Useless bit of information: to learn about writing (and to ramp up my typing speed before job hunting), I typed out all three of the above stories on my knackered old laptop.

[Loki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a set of mundane, exquisite, and extraordinary stories. There is no contradiction there. These are extremely well-crafted, and retain full view of the humanity of the story whilst exploring "deeper" themes. Highly recommended.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

loved 'Mysteries of the Ancients', 'A simple question' and there are nice touches throughout, but didn't engage with all the stories, some seemed a bit slight.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stories!!! At first I was hesitant because I might have the same experience when reading EAP's selected tales but it is so far from boring.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this for my book club and it was much easier to get through when I could yell at the characters by writing all over the book.