{"product_id":"tell-me-who-we-were-stories-isbn-9780062869807","title":"Tell Me Who We Were: Stories","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA dazzling collection of linked short stories about\u003cbr\u003ewomanhood, motherhood, marriage and transformation, in the vein of such\u003cbr\u003econtemporary powerhouses as Carmen Maria Machado, Kelly Link and Samantha Hunt\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e“These are stories of magical lyricism, contemporary\u003cbr\u003ein their exploration of the obsessions of girls and young women, mythic in\u003cbr\u003etheir scope and mystery…. Remarkable. The work of an exceptional writer.”  —Joyce\u003cbr\u003eCarol Oates\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eIt begins with a drowning.\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne day, Mr.\u003cbr\u003eArcilla, the romance-language teacher at Briarfield, an all-girls boarding\u003cbr\u003eschool, is found dead at the bottom of Reed Pond. Young and handsome, the\u003cbr\u003eobject of much fantasy and fascination, he was adored by his students. For\u003cbr\u003eLilith and Romy, Evie and Claire, and Nellie and Grace, he was their first\u003cbr\u003elove, and their first true loss.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this\u003cbr\u003eextraordinary collection, Kate McQuade explores the ripple effect of one\u003cbr\u003etransformative moment on six lives, witnessed at a different point in each\u003cbr\u003egirl’s future. Throughout these stories, these bright, imaginative, and\u003cbr\u003eambitious girls mature into women, lose touch and call in favors, achieve\u003cbr\u003esuccess and endure betrayal, marry and divorce, have children and struggle with\u003cbr\u003einfertility, abandon husbands and remain loyal to the end.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eLyrical, intimate, and\u003cbr\u003eincisive, \u003cem\u003eTell Me Who We Were\u003c\/em\u003e explores the inner worlds of\u003cbr\u003egirls and women, the relationships we cherish and betray, and the\u003cbr\u003etransformations we undergo in the simple act of living.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003eIt begins with a drowning.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne day, Mr. Arcilla, the romance-language teacher at Briarfield, an all-girls boarding school, is found dead at the bottom of Reed Pond. Young and handsome, the object of much fantasy and fascination, he was adored by his students. For Lilith and Romy, Evie and Claire, and Nellie and Grace, he was their first love, and their first true loss.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this extraordinary collection, Kate McQuade explores the ripple effect of one transformative moment on six lives, witnessed at a different point in each girl’s future. Throughout these stories, these bright, imaginative, and ambitious girls mature into women, lose touch and call in favors, achieve success and endure betrayal, marry and divorce, have children and struggle with infertility, abandon husbands and remain loyal to the end.\u003c\/p\u003eLyrical, intimate, and incisive, \u003cem\u003eTell Me Who We Were\u003c\/em\u003e explores the inner worlds of girls and women, the relationships we cherish and betray, and the transformations we undergo in the simple act of living. | \u003cp\u003e“A lush dark fairy tale forest of a book—full of shadowy life, magical upendings, and all the longings and betrayals of the body. So deeply felt and evocative that we live these stories inside the characters’ skins. A moving, richly textured exploration of what it means to be haunted.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eClare Beams, author of We Show What We Have Learned\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Kate McQuade’s \u003cem\u003eTell Me Who We Were \u003c\/em\u003eis the most refreshing work of contemporary literature I’ve read in years....The roots of this book are in ancient literature, but its spirit is stirringly Twenty-first Century.  A virtuoso performance!”   - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDavid Huddle, author of The Story of a Million Years and The Faulkes Chronicles\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“These are stories of magical lyricism, contemporary in their exploration of the obsessions of girls and young women, mythic in their scope and mystery….Remarkable. The work of an exceptional writer.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJoyce Carol Oates\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Arresting...McQuade writes with perceptive elegance.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Insightful, compassionate... a truly wonderful collection.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMinneapolis Star Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Elegant, intimate...a revelatory glimpse into the dark magic of girlhood, the intense pulsations of young adulthood, and the fraught sensuality of womanhood. This is an artfully constructed, soulfully rendered collection whose characters, images, and questions will resonate long after you turn the last page.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKeija Parssinen, author of The Unraveling of Mercy Louis\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The stories in \u003cem\u003eTell Me Who We Were \u003c\/em\u003eare united by ferociously complicated women wrestling with pain and desire in a vividly unsettled world. Kate McQuade is a spectacular writer, equal parts sensitive and fearless, and \u003cem\u003eTell Me Who We Were \u003c\/em\u003eis abundant with heartbreak and wonder.”  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLaura Van Den Berg, author of Find Me\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I adored this remarkable, wonderful book of linked stories, held together by a mysterious death. The stories capture the longing of girlhood, the strangeness of motherhood, the pain and hopefulness felt in a marriage. Kate McQuade writes with beauty, grace, and an electric touch of magic.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAnnie Hartnett, author of Rabbit Cake\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Kate McQuade is one of the most exciting writers I’ve read in years. I could read – and learn from – her prose all day and still want more, and the haunting, crackling-with-life world of this linked collection will long stay with me.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAnne Valente, author of Our Hearts Will Burn Us Down\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"William Morrow Paperbacks","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44889255674085,"sku":"NP9780062869807","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780062869807.jpg?v=1730230854","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/tell-me-who-we-were-stories-isbn-9780062869807","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}