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Widow

Stories
by Michelle Latiolais
Widow: Stories. Bellevue Literary. 2011. c.160p. ISBN 9781934137307. pap. $14.95. F
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The loss of a lifetime partner can send one into previously unknown recesses of emotion. So many huge dismissals and tiny slights come at you each and every day. Out of discomfort or social awkwardness, other people say and do things that merely serve to reopen the wound. In this collection of short stories, Latiolais (A Proper Knowledge) utilizes the lens of her own experience to translate into words the strange new world of the recently widowed. Her characters range from a young widow confronting an obtuse gynecologist to a woman out on the town for the first time and reexperiencing sexual longing.
VERDICT Those who have walked this path will find common ground, while those who have not will find much to consider. All who venture here will discover some very fine writing. This collection will appeal to recent fans of Joan Didion and to short story readers who have the courage to face the darker sentiments.
Reviewed by Susanne Wells, Cincinnati , Feb 15, 2011
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