The Joy of Funerals A Novel in Stories

by Strauss, Alix

• ISBN13: 9780312309176
• ISBN10: 0312309171
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-05-14
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Summary

Begun as a 'Lives' column in The New York Times Magazine, The Joy of Funerals is a riveting look into the disturbing lives of nine young women, each willing to take drastic measures to fill the voids created by longing and loneliness. The first eight face death differently, from Leslie, who grieves for her dead husband by having random sex with mourners she finds at a cemetery, to the unnamed woman who can't stop believing that her recently deceased date was perhaps the perfect man. The ninth woman, Nina, ties them all together by attending these funerals in her search to bond with others. Throughout this stunning debut, Strauss explores how our most basic need for connection shapes and defines us.

Author Biography

Alix Strauss is a freelance writer whose articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Daily News, Time magazine, Men's Health, Marie Claire, and Self, among others. Her short fiction has been published in the Hampton Shorts Literary Review, the Idaho Review, and Quality Women's Fiction. The short story "Shrinking Away" won the David Dornstein Creative Writing Award. She has been featured on several morning shows discussing lifestyle and entertainment trends. Alix Strauss lives in Manhattan

Table of Contents

Recovering Larry	p. 1
The Way You Left	p. 17
Shrinking Away	p. 47
Addressing the Dead	p. 61
Post-dated	p. 77
Versions of You	p. 91
Swimming Without Annette	p. 113
Still Life	p. 135
The Joy of Funerals	p. 155
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