Mad Hope, Heather Birrell
Mad Hope, Heather Birrell
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

Mad Hope
Stories

Author: Heather Birrell

Narrator: Graham Rowat, Erin Moon, Morgan Hallett, Tandy Cronyn

Unabridged: 8 hr 7 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 06/14/2013


Synopsis

In the stories of Mad Hope, Heather Birrell finds the heart of her characters and lets them lead us into worlds both unrecognizable and alarming. We think we know these people but discover we don't-they are more alive, more real, and more complex than we first imagined. A high school science teacher is forced to re-examine the role he played in Nicolae Ceausescu's Romania after a student makes a shocking request. The uncertainty, anxiety, and anticipation of pregnancy are examined through an online chat group. Parenting is viewed from the perspective of a gay man caring for his friend and her adopted son. A tragic plane crash becomes the basis for a meditation on motherhood and its discontents. Birrell uses precise, inventive language to capture the beautiful mess of being human-and more than lives up to her Journey Prize accolades. Her characters come to greet us, undo us, make us yearn, and make us smile. Heather Birrell is the author of the story collection I know you are but what am I? Her work has been honored with the prestigious Journey Prize for short fiction and the Edna Staebler Award for creative nonfiction.

Reviews

Goodreads review by karen

this book is about...people. i mean, is that facile, or what?? but it's not untrue. these stories are about the human spirit and the universality of the human experiences of life: death, parenthood, relationships, coming of age, pregnancy, and about the making of unexpected connections with others. but......more

Goodreads review by Rebecca

It's not very surprising that *Mad Hope* is as good as it is--Birrell's first collection of short stories, *I Know You Are but What Am I?* was similarly stellar, and the first story in this collection won the Journey Prize. Plus Coachhouse Books doesn't publish just anything. The stories are subtle,......more

Goodreads review by Lori

from publisher Read 10/1/12 - 10/6/12 3 Stars - Recommended to fans of short stories that take a look inward and aren't always obvious Pgs: 223 Publisher: Coach House One of the things I like most about reading short story collections is the hunt for the connections. Sometimes, the authors make it extrem......more