New York 1, Tel Aviv O

Born in Los Angeles and raised in Israel, Oria gives her first story collection a sharp edge, subtle humor, and a distinctive contemporary voice. One of the strongest pieces, "The Thing About Sophia," is told by a cast-off girlfriend of a charming female narcissist. The title is repeated like a mantra, so that the reader learns at least ten things about Sophia that make her both difficult and alluring and sees the speaker's escalating anger and regret as each item is added to the list. Like many contemporary writers, Oria offers an important perspective on coinciding cultures and languages, examining the rifts between children and parents separated by an ocean ("The Disneyland of Albany") and the displacements of characters who move quickly from mandatory military service in Israel to la vie bohème in lower Manhattan. Sometimes we even see those rifts and ruptures beginning to heal.