Quotes
Praise for Nightjar
“Emily Ruskovich, who wrote the best-selling and award-winning 2017 novel Idaho, proves herself to be a master of short fiction with this stunning collection of five short stories set against the otherworldly backdrop of the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest. Whether the stories revolve around a young woman moving into her husband’s childhood home or an estranged father grieving the loss of his brother, all of them explore the flimsy intersection between secrets and innocence, truth and memory.”—Harper’s Bazaar
“To read Emily Ruskovich is to unwrap a gift: her stories are surprising, rewarding, beautiful. There are strange love affairs, hearts gently breaking, cherished childhood memories that turn out to be untrue; in clear and distinctive prose, she evokes the epic scope of quiet lives.”—Paula Hawkins, New York Times bestselling author of A Slow Fire Burning
“These are marvelous and unsettling stories. Ruskovich’s prose is lambent, the relationships between her characters are thorny, complex, and mesmerizing, and the shapes of her stories constantly surprise. I loved Nightjar.”—Kelly Link, bestselling author of The Book of Love
“These are exquisite short stories. They disturb, delight, and linger long after finishing.”—Louise Kennedy, author of Trespasses
“Ruskovich blends urgent pacing with lush wooded scenery and intimate psychological details. It’s a marvel.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“In this exquisitely tailored collection of five stories, Ruskovich plumbs the depths of mystery, memory, and the quiet grief of intimacy. . . . Like Idaho, this book has a compelling slipperiness, both in time and reality. Ruskovich’s characters are often in two places in time at once, and she expertly weaves memory and observation to fuse the past and present together. . . . A portal to a haunting, liminal Pacific Northwest.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Praise for Emily Ruskovich
“You know you’re in masterly hands here. . . . Wrenching and beautiful.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Sensuous, exquisitely crafted.”—The Wall Street Journal
“Riveting . . . exquisitely rendered with masterful language and imagery . . . powerful and deeply moving.”—The Washington Post
“Shatteringly original . . . upturns everything you think you know about story. . . . You could read Idaho just for the sheer beauty of the prose, the expert way Ruskovich makes everything strange and yet absolutely familiar. . . . She startles with images so fresh, they make you see the world anew.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“Ruskovich’s prose is immensely seductive.”—The Boston Globe
“Haunting, propulsive and gorgeously written.”—People