In the Mouth: Stories and Novellas Book

"...an American talent..."—Stephen King

Pollack writes about times of tragedy and transition insightfully, aware of their everyday quality and of their gravity. In the Mouth is a window onto the amazing tenderness and irrationality of human life.

One story, "The Bris," has been selected for The Best American Short-Stories 2008 (Edited by Stephen King and Heidi Pitlor).

"Eileen Pollock writes with great acuity, humor, and intelligent resign-ation about the various ways family love is called upon and revealed. This book is terrific company."—Lorrie Moore

"These are funny, rueful, wise stories, steeped in absurdity, pain, possibility —the work of a writer who has lived."—Gish Jen

Christina Bauer - Library Journal

The five stories and one novella collected here by award-winning author Pollack (Woman Walking Ahead: In Search of Catherine Weldon and Sitting Bull) are good but ultimately flawed. "The Bris" features the middle-aged Marcus, whose elderly father, thought to have been Jewish, asks Marcus to have him circumcised. The story takes darkly funny turns, as when an indigent mohel demands $500 for the circumcision. Pollack thoughtfully describes the love between Marcus and his father and the sacrifices they have made for each other, especially evident as Marcus takes drastic measures to satisfy his father's wishes. In "Uno," Heloise, who's attracted to suffering, has trouble accepting her healthy family life and thus turns to adultery. "The Safe" concerns a woman who overcomes her fear of showing affection to her son by learning why her father was afraid to show her affection. Though these stories are emotional and hard to forget, Pollack's ideas are sometimes clouded by overdramatic, clichéd writing. In "The Bris," for instance, it's annoying to read that Marcus's father has a meal that tastes so good it brings "tears to his eyes" and later Marcus falls "to his knees" over the stress he's experiencing. "The Safe" suffers from a strange image of a woman licking chocolate from her child's fingers as an example of an affectionate parent. An optional purchase for most libraries.