by Amy Hempel
First published 1992
Amy Hempel performs her own fiction in this audio recording from 1992. Her voice carries the spare, precise sentences that made her reputation in contemporary American short stories. She reads tales of loss, grief, and small moments that reveal larger truths about human connection. The stories feature characters navigating divorce, death, friendship, and the spaces between what people say and what they mean. Hempel's delivery strips away sentimentality from painful subjects. Her characters speak in clipped dialogue that suggests more than it states. Dogs appear frequently, as do hospitals, phone calls, and conversations that circle around what cannot be said directly. The author's own voice adds another layer to stories already known for their emotional restraint and careful attention to detail. Each piece builds meaning through what remains unspoken rather than through explanation or analysis.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: spare-prose, unreliable-narrator
Period: 1992
1 pages · Audio Cassette · Amer Audio Prose Library Inc