Natural History, Andrea Barrett
Natural History, Andrea Barrett
List: $15.99 | Sale: $11.20
Club: $7.99

Natural History
Stories

Author: Andrea Barrett

Narrator: Teri Schnaubelt

Unabridged: 5 hr 56 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/11/2022


Synopsis

A masterful new collection of interconnected stories, from the renowned National Book Award–winning author

In Natural History, Andrea Barrett completes the beautiful arc of intertwined lives of a family of scientists, teachers, and innovators that she has been weaving through multiple books since her National Book Award–winning collection, Ship Fever. The six exquisite stories in Natural History are set largely in a small community in central New York state and portray some of her most beloved characters, spanning the decades between the Civil War to the present day. In "Henrietta and Her Moths," a woman tends to an insect nursery as her sister's life follows a different path. In "Open House," a young man grapples with a choice between a thrilling life spent discovering fossils and a desire to remain close to home. And in the magnificent title novella, "Natural History," Barrett deepens the connection between her characters, bringing us through to the present day and providing an unforgettable capstone.

Told with Barrett's characteristic elegance, passion for science, and wonderful eye for the natural world, the psychologically astute and moving stories gathered in this collection evoke the ways women's lives and expectations—in families, in work, and in love—have shifted across a century and more.

About Andrea Barrett

Andrea Barrett is the author of nine previous works of fiction, including the National Book Award-winning Ship Fever and Pulitzer Prize finalist Servants of the Map. She is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and an NEA Fellowship, as well as a finalist for the Story Prize and a recipient of the Rea Award for the Short Story. Having lived in Rochester, New York, and western Massachusetts, Barrett now resides in the Adirondacks.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Collette on September 10, 2022

Natural History by Adrea Barrett is the culmination of a collection of characters featured in her work since the publication of Ship Fever in 1996. This series of six interconnected stories is a progression of her earlier work but since this is my first read by Barrett, I can attest to the fact that......more

Goodreads review by Nancy on June 24, 2022

I discovered Andrea Barrett many years ago when I picked up her National Book Award winning volume of short stories Ship Fever and I have been pleased to have read other of her books since then, including Servants of the Map and The Voyage of the Narwhal. Ship Fever included the story The Marburg Sis......more

Goodreads review by Kim on October 24, 2022

Barrett paints detailed and intimate portraits of her characters. She creates highly descriptive landscapes, but it's definitely people who always occupy the center of attention in the foreground.  While reading these interconnected stories, I am reminded of Anthony Doerr's very early short story cal......more

Goodreads review by Rachel on July 03, 2022

Natural History is a linked short story collection, and I'm normally distrustful of this structure, but I thought that Andrea Barrett overall did a good job with the form, particularly in the first section, where the characters are more closely intertwined. It was exciting to get to see little peeks......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer on November 15, 2022

My first by this author, so I was unfamiliar with the characters and found them difficult to follow unless they were repeated in other stories. While I usually enjoy a challenging premise of non-linear storytelling, I just didn’t find the underlying science theme very interesting. On the plus side,......more