Well, let’s start this off with one of my favorite authors, Samantha Hunt. She is the acclaimed author of Mr. Splitfoot, The Seas, and The Invention of Everything Else. I can not recommend her books enough. I will most likely write about at least one more, if not all, her books in the future of Ballycumber. Hunt’s novels are like waking up to the smell of fresh-brewed coffee, invigorating and bringing warmth to the soul.
It is so hard for me to say this because, again...her books are amazing. But my favorite of her books is The Dark Dark: Stories, a collection of short stories. I have read this collection multiple times and will read it many more times in the future. The collection is full of beautifully written tales that are poignant yet delicate, that act as testaments and an analysis of what it means to be human in the modern age. The writer’s style and methods in which she tells the stories are at times melancholy but at others, sometimes in the same tale, agonizingly hopeful. Samantha Hunt creates characters that are easy to become attached to and identify with as they struggle against the darkness of the world around them, and you sympathize with them as they discover that the true darkness delves inside them and as a reflection, we see the darkness in ourselves we have to overcome.
So grab a cup of coffee, curl up in your favorite reading spot and enjoy the stories Hunt weaves, ranging from a story of a woman turning into deer to a poignant tale of recovering from a miscarriage to a tale of teenagers floating away, all while dealing with topics such as infertility and infidelity among many others.
Samantha Hunt’s book The Dark, Dark: Stories was a nominee for the PEN/Faulkner Award in 2018. In 2019 it was the winner of the St. Francis College Literary Prize. It was on NPR and Kirkus Reviews’ best books of 2017.
Always support your local library and go there first to find a book. Librarians are there to help you find what you need! But here are a few links to purchase The Dark Dark: Stories by Samantha Hunt.
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