Short stories by Antonya Nelson
Antonya Nelson is the author of nine books of fiction (three novels and six collections of stories). Nelson's work has appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, Harper's, Redbook, and in many other magazines, as well as in anthologies such as Prize Stories, the O. Henry Awards, and Best American Short Stories. Her books have been New York Times Notable Books of 1992, 1996, 1998, and 2000; in 2000 Nelson was also named by The New Yorker as one of the "twenty young fiction writers for the new millennium." She is the recipient of the Rea Award for Short Fiction, a 2000-2001 NEA Grant, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. Nelson also teaches creative writing in the Warren Wilson MFA program.
Listing 4 stories.
A middle-aged Texan mother in Alcoholics Anonymous tells stories about her eccentric, rich neighbor instead of focusing on the miserable truth of her own addiction.
A woman married to a much older man feels miserable during pregnancy, having abandoned frequent alcohol consumption, insecure about her husband's obsession with his ex-wife, a dead political poet, and missing her carefree youth. When she finally gives birth, she begins to see her aging husband as disgusting and infant-like and begins to contemplate divorce.
At an Easter party in Kansas, a teenage girl realizes her mother might be having an affair with her employer—who is hosting the party. When her father shows up unexpectedly, the room becomes tense, and while her parents stay together, her mother never works for the man again.
While on vacation with his wife in Florida, a man is haunted by the memory of a past lover. Meanwhile, tension grows between him and his wife due to their struggle to conceive a child.