Near Strangers
Near Strangers by Marian Crotty, published by Autumn House Press in 2024, is a collection of eight short stories that explore unexpected connections within queer life in America. This edition, comprising 156 pages, presents resilient female protagonists navigating themes of understanding, acceptance, and forgiveness against the backdrop of their diverse experiences.
Readers will find narratives that delve into the complexities of relationships and identity. The stories feature characters such as an elderly rape crisis volunteer reassessing her estrangement from her son, a queer teen receiving guidance from her grandmother through heartbreak, and families disrupted by the arrival of a minor celebrity. Through these tales, Crotty addresses issues of marginalization and loneliness while maintaining a hopeful tone that encourages reflection on shared human experiences.
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Featured in Electric Lit‘s “15 Small Press Books You Should Be Reading This Winter”
Winner of the 2023 Autumn House Fiction Prize, Near Strangers is a collection of eight tightly crafted short stories that follow unexpected connections and tell of queer life in America.
Award-winning author Marian Crotty’s sophomore collection centers on resilient female protagonists and offers a view into queer life and love outside of its major coastal cities. The characters in Crotty’s collection are searching–for understanding, acceptance, or forgiveness.
In the title story, an elderly rape crisis volunteer’s advocacy for a survivor leads her to reexamine her role in estrangement from her son; in “Halloween,” a queer teen is counseled through heartbreak by her unlucky-in-love grandmother; and in “Family Resemblance,” a group of families whose children share the same sperm donor is disrupted by the arrival of a minor celebrity.
While marginalization, loneliness, and bigotry hover in the distance of Near Strangers, the book’s tone is hopeful and invites readers to reflect on our shared human experience with empathy.
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