{"product_id":"the-words-of-dr-l-isbn-9781640097681","title":"The Words of Dr. L","description":"\u003cb\u003eNational Book Award finalist Karen E. Bender returns with stunning speculative stories of parents and children, together and apart, surviving near-future dystopias that feel all-too-possible—and realities that can be even stranger\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGrounded in both the contemporary United States and a variety of dystopias, celebrated author Karen E. Bender’s otherworldly collection examines the evolving dynamics of the nuclear family during adolescence, motherhood, the empty nest, and caring for an aging parent.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA young woman seeks to learn the magical words that can terminate her unwanted pregnancy. A mother discovers an extra child in her home she had forgotten about. A couple is separated from their son and encased in globes orbiting the Earth. Society develops a terrible plan to leave the burning planet for a life on Mars. Each story honors the emotional force of its situation by grappling with themes of freedom, self-definition, youth, aging, control, and power. Using settings both familiar and fantastic, Bender’s work explores the ordinary in the extraordinary to discover secret, hidden truths in the lifelong connection between parents and their children.\u003cb\u003eLonglisted for The Story Prize\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e, A Best Fiction Book of the Year\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e, A Must-Read Book of May\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWrite or Die\u003c\/i\u003e, A Must-Read Book of the Month\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLiterary Hub\u003c\/i\u003e, A Most Anticipated Book of the Year\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"These often speculative stories take place in worlds in which troubling features of our own are amplified . . . Beyond the collection’s interest in political commentary, what most animates it is familial heartache.\" —\u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"Insights pierce depictions of the intrinsic connections of parents and children, family and friends . . . \u003ci\u003eThe Los Angeles\u003c\/i\u003e native’s masterful sleights of hand reveal the dystopian elements of our current reality and the resonant aspects of far-off futures.\" —\u003ci\u003eAlta\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Bender perfectly narrows the gap between the speculative and the frighteningly real, drawing on the connection between parents and their children to craft stories that ache with familial love. If you didn’t already know that Karen Bender was one of our greatest short story writers working today, let \u003ci\u003eThe Words of Dr. L\u003c\/i\u003e make it perfectly clear.\" —Michael Welch, \u003ci\u003eChicago Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"A collection of stories that artfully reframe issues including parenting, aging, illness, and life during the Covid-19 pandemic . . . As if turning a shirt inside-out and finding a beautiful new pattern, Bender [...] does a brilliant job of discovering novel metaphors and creating futuristic plots to re-examine some of life’s most taken-for-granted relationships and situations . . . Highly original stories that speak to the challenges of being human in the 21st century.\" —\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The concreteness of Bender’s language is in sharp contrast to the deep strangeness and troubling ambiguity afoot in the dystopian worlds her characters must navigate . . . Bender’s finely calibrated prose makes the most bizarre situations feel plausible and the most ordinary predicaments seem uncanny, while her psychological insights into marriage, parenting, guilt, memory, age, and loss are poignantly precise. These are many-faceted, deeply ponderable stories.\" —\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Meticulously crafted . . . Despite a premonition of disaster in many of Bender's riveting selections, an atmosphere of gentleness envelops her characters . . . In Bender's investigation of isolation and community, parents and children, friends and seeming enemies, these twelve stories allow readers a wide lens through which to both contemplate world events and what may lay ahead—and to consider the vital role of compassion when weighing one's choices . . . [B]eautifully crafted.\" —Jennifer M. Brown, \u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"Bender’s impressive latest explores relationships between friends and family with a mix of speculative and realist tales . . . Bender’s more fantastical stories recall the work of Isaac Asimov, while her realist takes offer insight into the complex lives of characters navigating loss and disappointment. It’s an accomplished collection from a seasoned storyteller.\" —\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Karen Bender’s stories deftly explore our current American moment, a troubling one that verges on insanity. Bender is concerned with love, family, and motherhood, and in these beautifully written stories she uses words to describe thoughts and feelings that I’ve never seen described before. A great writer helps us understand who we are, and what it means to be human.” —Matthew Klam, author of \u003ci\u003eWho is Rich?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"Karen Bender’s brilliant new collection of stories is devastating in its human truths yet not without hope. In worlds where nouns are capitalized (Confusion, Separation, Protection) and empathy is under siege, these stories provide the answer to Andromeda Romano-Lax’s question: How can fiction predict a future that’s already happening? Motherhood circles around climate change, reproductive rights orbit autocracy, love swirls around pestilence and vicious patriarchy. Yet Bender’s characters never lose sight of the urgency of resilience and change. These stories ensure that we never stop asking the questions that will save us. \u003ci\u003eThe Words of Dr. L\u003c\/i\u003e is a true literary masterwork.\" —Carolyn Ferrell, author of \u003ci\u003eDear Miss Metropolitan\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eKAREN E. BENDER\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of the story collections \u003ci\u003eThe New Order\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eRefund\u003c\/i\u003e, a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction. She is also the author of the novels\u003ci\u003e Like Normal People\u003c\/i\u003e and\u003ci\u003e A Town of Empty Rooms\u003c\/i\u003e. Her fiction has appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker, Granta, Zoetrope, Ploughshares, Story, Harvard Review, The Yale Review, The Iowa Review\u003c\/i\u003e, and other magazines. Her stories have been anthologized in \u003ci\u003eThe Best American Short Stories\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Best American Mystery Stories\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eNew Stories from the South: The Year's Best\u003c\/i\u003e, and have won three Pushcart prizes. She has won grants from the Rona Jaffe Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. She has taught for numerous MFA programs and is currently a visiting writer for the Stony Brook University MFA in creative writing and on the core faculty for the Alma College MFA program.","brand":"Counterpoint","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48233770123493,"sku":"NP9781640097681","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781640097681.jpg?v=1767742301","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-words-of-dr-l-isbn-9781640097681","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}