Try our Advanced SearchShort stories by Alice Adams
Alice Adams was an American short story writer and novelist—her work has been lauded for its novel approaches to the livelihoods and relationships of women in modern America. Her novels include A Southern Exposure and Listening to Billie, and her short story collecions include Beautiful Girl, Return Trips, and The Last Lovely City. In 1982, she received the O. Henry Special Award for Continuing Achievement; only three other authors in history have received the award: John Updike, Joyce Carol Oates, and Alice Munro. Her work was also recognized by The Best American Short Stories, the Guggenheim, and the National Endowment of the Arts. After she passed in 1999, some of her works were released posthumously, such as After the War in 2000 and The Stories of Alice Adams in 2002.
Listing 18 stories.
A housewife in Wisconsin tries desperately to warn people about the impending doom Hitler poses as he rises to power in Europe. Simultaneously, she lives vicariously through her daughters and hopes to glean satisfaction out of their romances where she can't from her own.
A young woman's luck turns around as she takes time off to visit her sister in Alaska, while her elderly co-worker is haunted by her own age and recollections of her past.
When Ardis Bascombe drunkenly kissed Walpole Greene one college night, she did not know she would be stirring a deadly attraction that might be fatal for her.
A 13-year old girl with an eating disorder is sent to live with her mother's distant relatives in the hopes of changing her behavior for the better.
A woman flying home to San Francisco is forced on a detour because of a catastrophic earthquake that hits Northern California. She calls an ex-boyfriend with whom she is still in love to make sure he is safe and the two weigh whether or not to continue their romance.
A German hotel owner in Hawaii experiences a jolt of excitement in his life when a young woman who loves literature and detests flights as much as he does checks in his hotel with her husband.
In the midst of his divorce, Carter, a man who seemingly struggles with impotence, realizes that he has a tendency to get married to chronically unfaithful women
Molly and her friend, Sandy, spend a tense getaway weekend together in Northern California, where they encounter a stray dog which haunts Molly afterward.
An older man meets with various friends and his ex-wife in New York City, where he has come after his fourth wife runs off with a poet.
After her home is burglarized, Deborah makes some startling realizations about herself and her boyfriend.