She Is Haunted, Paige Clark
She Is Haunted, Paige Clark
List: $16.95 | Sale: $11.87
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She Is Haunted
Stories

Author: Paige Clark

Narrator: Kimie Tsukakoshi

Unabridged: 6 hr 33 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/17/2022


Synopsis

With an unforgettable voice and exuberant wit, She Is Haunted is a masterful debut exploring issues of identity, connection, and loss, told with remarkable grace and assurance by Chinese-American-Australian author Paige Clark.In stories charged by the complexities of mother-daughter relationships, grief, exes, and the profundities of friendship, She Is Haunted features injured ballerinas, cloned dogs, and competitive call centers in settings as far ranging as future and present Australia, New York City’s Chinatown, and suburban California.A mother cuts her daughter’s hair because her own hair begins falling out; a woman attempts to physically transform into her dead husband so that she does not have to grieve; a woman undergoes brain surgery in order to live more comfortably in extreme temperatures.Braiding the real and the surreal, both playfully witty and deeply insightful, these stories show us characters striving to make sense of the grand themes of family, love, death, and our changing world. She Is Haunted flags Paige Clark as a wondrous and wise new literary talent.

About Paige Clark

Paige Clark is a Chinese/ American/Australian fiction writer, researcher, and teacher from Los Angeles. Her fiction has appeared in Meanjin, Meniscus, and New World Writing. In 2019, she was runner-up for the Peter Carey Short Story Award and shortlisted for the David Harold Tribe Fiction Award. She has a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communication Theory from Boston University and a Master of Creative Writing, Editing, and Publishing from the University of Melbourne, where she is currently at work on her PhD. Her research addresses the relationship between race, craft, and the teaching of creative writing. She lives in Melbourne with her partner, Alex, and their dog, Freddie.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Krystal

So I finished this and I'm pretty sure I didn't understand any of it but I still kinda liked it? *shrugs* Some of the stories are straight up bizarre and seem to be pointless, but others had me really sucked in and feeling real things. Pretty much all of them end awkwardly, though, so be prepared to......more

Goodreads review by Sheree

My full review of She Is Haunted can be found on Keeping Up With The Penguins. I liked the stories where Clark nudged at the supernatural (or, to put it another way, when things got weird). This is also the first “post-pandemic” fiction I’ve read that directly and explicitly describes the impact of C......more


Quotes

“Many Elizabeths appear in Paige Clark’s collection. They are zany, tender, slyly wise, and always enchanting…They haunt me, in the best possible way.” Entertainment Weekly

“This book is a true original, with skilled, delicate power and an unforgettable mix of raw humor, fantastical digressions, and melancholy insight…This is one of the most enjoyable, memorable Australian books of this year." The Guardian (London)

“Steeped in longing, the stories of She Is Haunted celebrate the messy strength of women.” Foreword Reviews

“Clark’s exceptional debut collection cuts right to the emotional core of its characters…With a striking style, Clark consistently hits her mark, sticking each landing with breathtaking poignancy.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Her explorations of grief, loss, and identity are deeply moving." Alix Ohlin, author of We Want What We Want


Awards

  • Readings Prize
  • Stella Prize
  • Guardian Best Book of the Year
  • Entertainment Weekly Pick