The Woman in the Woods: Linked Stories

by Ann Joslin Williams and Alex Brown

A collection of linked stories by Ann Joslin Williams.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1597660191
• ISBN13: 9781597660198
• Release Date: February 2007
• Publisher: Eastern Washington University
• Length: 203 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Perfect

I am from New Hampshire, but I read this book on vacation in Utah. This book effectively brought me back to the woods of my home. It is an exhilerating story of life, death, and all that is involved in the middle.

Williams's lyrical collection of linked stories repays a second read

These stories explore the essential--life, death, love, nakedness--by following Kate and her brother David over the course of their lives. What we witness is that people aren't always what they seem, that relationships aren't always what they are understood to be; in these stories, the characters demand something more from existence. In "Jupiter Shining, North of the Moon," Williams describes the moon that disinterestedly shines down on the characters: "It was just a mass of rock, held prisoner by the earth, and pulling tides, yet suddenly it seemed a hot eye upon us, daring anyone to ask it for anything. "Joe laughed. `I wish the moon would f-- itself,' he said. "Later that night we'd have to carry Joe, near drowned, back to his room." The existential searching of The Woman in the Woods reminds me of one of my favorite poems from the Japanese poet Kobayashi Issa (1763-1828): The world of dew is the world of dew. And yet, and yet Literature often gets elevated for shedding light on the "human condition." After reading this collection, I feel like I've finally learned something through Williams's masterful handling of character and juxtaposition. I strongly recommend this book to anyone dedicated to the craft of writing, and to anyone who wants to witness people in all our weakness and fragile happiness. As Thoreau wrote in _Walden_, "You only need sit still long enough in some attractive spot in the woods that all its inhabitants may exhibit themselves to you by turns." Ann Joslin Williams has found that spot in _The Woman in the Woods_.

Gorgeous, Seductive, Unforgettable!

This is an absolutely gorgeous book, with characters that stay with you long past the page. I love how this writer conjures an entire world with a few sentences - it's dark, yes, but deeply affirming to the human spirit. Put down Harry Potter and pick up a small press book that's WORTH reading! This is a not to be missed group of stories. Congratulations for picking a REAL winner!

Perfect example of novel structured in linked stories

I loved this book. I couldn't put it down. It's a perfect, beautiful, lyrical example of a novel structured in linked stories. I wish I'd written it, but then . . . only Ann Joslin Williams could have.

A riveting portrayal of forces both within the self and larger than oneself

Winner of the 2005 Spokane Prize for Short Fiction, The Woman in the Woods is an anthology of linked short stories set in New Hampshire's mountain country, by author and teacher Ann Joslin Williams. Dramatic and personal, dwelling on relationships between man and woman, wilderness and humanity, The Woman in the Woods is a riveting portrayal of forces both within the self and larger than oneself, as well as the sheer beauty of the natural world. "The woman takes a different trail down. It's a sharp descent over sheer granite, until the trail hits a straightaway through dwarf spruce, and meanders along the easy ridge to Firescrew. Up close, the white braids of quartz woven into the granite are tinged with rust-colored veins. The plateau has more growth than she remembered. Yellow grasses, fine and tall with delicate feathery seeds; junipers and low blueberry bushes everywhere." Highly recommended.