short stories, contemporary fiction, audio book ( )

I loved Monsters of Templeton, so I looked up this title. I enjoyed it very much, especially the stories "Fugue," "Watershed," and "L. DeBard and Aliette." This author has a wonderful way with words and imagines interesting characters. I will keep my eye out for more of Groff's work. ( )

I've never read "Monsters at Templeton," apparently Groff's masterpiece with rave reviews posted everywhere by some mighty minds. But I picked up "Delicate, Edible Birds" at the library during a bird phase, where I blindly gathered only books with nature-driven artwork. I returned home to find three bird covers, one butterfly cover and one tree with a bird cover. Odd but true.

Anyway, I hadn't realized the book was a compilation of stories, something normally unappealing to me, and didn't begin reading it until I was finished with the others. But the first few pages in I was already gripped with intrigue, flipping pages like a madwoman. I'm jealous of Groff's prose, how she wrangles words across the page. It's commanding yet subtle. Her stories are devastating, beautiful, cold, heartfelt, all, depending on the page.

I'll pick up "Monsters" on my next library trip and read anything else Groff writes.

More reviews online at http://reviewsbychristine.blogspot.co... ( )

Groff feels more successful as a short story writer than as a novelist -- as with "The Monsters of Templeton" (and many short story collections in general), some of the writing is much more successful, and "Delicate Edible Birds" features a a couple of utterly transcendent pieces ("Watershed" and "L. DeBard and Aliette" in particular). Skim or skip the ones that don't pull you in, and instead spend time savoring the perfect packages of the stories that do. ( )

In her first book since The Monsters of Templeton, Lauren Groff proves that she is a true and inspiring talent. Delicate Edible Birds is that rare short story collection that manages to maintain a theme without being repetitive, that contains true gems without a single dud. Each of Groff's stories stands strong and elegant alone, but as a collection they are truly dazzling. A new favorite. I recommed it without reservation. ( )