Advance Praise
“As a ‘re-entry’ into classical American short stories—from those by Washington Irving to Ernest Hemingway—Susan Lohafer’s The Belle of Sleepy Hollow picks up various strands implicit in the stories themselves and then teases these strands into alternate story worlds that are loyal to the originals themselves but also delightful prequels, sequels and side-stories. Lohafer’s bright intelligence, her enviable skill, is daunting: each of her stories is written in the voice of its predecessor—quite the stylistic feat—and she brings to her tribute an inventive, scrupulous and wholly delightful capacity for the perfect detail, and a remarkable depth of psychological insight as she allows us to see familiar characters anew. Canonical texts gain gravitas over time, but they can also lose their immediacy. If one reads Lohafer’s stories with considerable suspense to learn how she will adapt her own narrative to classic tales, one is also taken aback to observe how she manages to enliven them with a renewed care towards human suffering, the intricacy of our yearning, and the mystery of experience that animated the original writers. A wonderful companion to the American short story tradition, this collection also has an artistic integrity that will reward readers for some time to come.”
—Michael Trussler, author of Encounters and The Sunday Book
“Powerful short stories transport and transform us. We take them into us and carry them forever. The nine stories in this assemblage are indelible companions to their predecessors. While they share many of the same touchstone traits, they also possess a unique power all their own. Not only are they treasured stories in their own right, but they are also incomparable in their capacity to deepen our appreciation of the stories that inspired them. “The Purloined Tale,” for example, is a masterful and respectful homage to the father of the detective story and will very likely gain its own classic status alongside not one but two classic Poe stories. The result is an extraordinary enrichment of the reading experience of all three stories.”
-Morris A. Grubbs, editor of Home and Beyond: An Anthology of Kentucky Short Stories
“Susan Lohafer has a deep understanding of the hidden elements that make a short story. Such is her subtle command of—and respect for—language that I had the image of all of language standing to attention, ready to serve her. She draws us inside beloved classic tales and, eloquently, seamlessly, reveals the untold stories of lesser-known characters or the after-stories of central characters. I was transfixed by these stories, by the view I was given into these characters’ lives, and the full knowledge that these lives would go on after I’d left them. This is the real mark and genius of a short story writer.”
-Mary Costello, author of The China Cabinet and The River Capture
“As a ‘re-entry’ into classical American short stories—from those by Washington Irving to Ernest Hemingway—Susan Lohafer’s The Belle of Sleepy Hollow picks up various strands implicit in the stories themselves and then teases these strands into alternate story worlds that are loyal to the originals themselves but also delightful prequels, sequels and side-stories. Lohafer’s bright intelligence, her enviable skill, is daunting: each of her stories is written in the voice of its predecessor—quite the stylistic feat—and she brings to her tribute an inventive, scrupulous and wholly delightful capacity for the perfect detail, and a remarkable depth of psychological insight as she allows us to see familiar characters anew. Canonical texts gain gravitas over time, but they can also lose their immediacy. If one reads Lohafer’s stories with considerable suspense to learn how she will adapt her own narrative to classic tales, one is also taken aback to observe how she manages to enliven them with a renewed care towards human suffering, the intricacy of our yearning, and the mystery of experience that animated the original writers. A wonderful companion to the American short story tradition, this collection also has an artistic integrity that will reward readers for some time to come.”
—Michael Trussler, author of Encounters and The Sunday Book
“Powerful short stories transport and transform us. We take them into us and carry them forever. The nine stories in this assemblage are indelible companions to their predecessors. While they share many of the same touchstone traits, they also possess a unique power all their own. Not only are they treasured stories in their own right, but they are also incomparable in their capacity to deepen our appreciation of the stories that inspired them. “The Purloined Tale,” for example, is a masterful and respectful homage to the father of the detective story and will very likely gain its own classic status alongside not one but two classic Poe stories. The result is an extraordinary enrichment of the reading experience of all three stories.”
-Morris A. Grubbs, editor of Home and Beyond: An Anthology of Kentucky Short Stories
“Susan Lohafer has a deep understanding of the hidden elements that make a short story. Such is her subtle command of—and respect for—language that I had the image of all of language standing to attention, ready to serve her. She draws us inside beloved classic tales and, eloquently, seamlessly, reveals the untold stories of lesser-known characters or the after-stories of central characters. I was transfixed by these stories, by the view I was given into these characters’ lives, and the full knowledge that these lives would go on after I’d left them. This is the real mark and genius of a short story writer.”
-Mary Costello, author of The China Cabinet and The River Capture
