Borrowed Hearts

Borrowed Hearts traces the development of Rick DeMarinis's incantatory voice, including newer work as well as stories selected from his three previous, highly acclaimed collections: Under Wheat (1986), the winner of the Drue Heinz Literature Prize for short fiction; The Coming of the Free World, a New York Times Notable Book (1988); and The Voice of America (1991). The title story was included in 1991's The Best Stories of the South, and "Your Story" was played on National Public Radio's Selected Shorts.“This greatest-hits anthology … serves as an ideal curbside roost from which to contemplate his tantalizing, if often brooding, artistry.” –Marc Smirnoff, New York Times Book Review


“This career-synthesizing collection of stories lands [DeMarinis] on the shelf right next to Flannery O'Connor, another writer who shined a divine light on ordinary saints and sinners.” –Tom Grimes, The Texas Observer


“The beauty of reading DeMarinis's work in bulk; by the end of the 32-story collection, even the weirdest notions seem plausible: Wimpy men with murder in their hearts, cruel slovenly women, and nasty little kids no longer induce winces. Instead, they seem genuine, faintly familiar, and never, ever boring.” –Seattle TimesRick DeMarinis was the highly acclaimed author of ten novels, including The Year of the Zinc Penny, a New York Times Notable book, and six short story col­lections, including Apocalypse Then and Borrowed Hearts. In 1990, he received a Literature Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Each year, Cutthroat: A Journal of the Arts, awards a short story prize in his name. Rick passed away on June 12, 2019.