I read a lot of The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel, but not all of them. I liked the ones I read, and still think that previous collection, Tumble Home, is great. But I think I was becoming a little numb. Worth picking up again later.

I read Amy Hempel’s Tumble Home. The title novella didn’t do much for me, but the short stories were so crisp and weird and vivid. From page 21, one of my favorite images of the year: “the halved-apple faces of owls”. Short and sweet.