Nobody Gets Out Alive
Stories
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3.6 • 8 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD AND THE STORY PRIZE
Named a BEST BOOK OF 2022 by Oprah Daily, Vogue, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, and Electric Lit
From a prizewinning author comes an “electric...stunning” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) debut story collection about women navigating the wilds of male-dominated Alaskan society.
Set in Newman’s home state of Alaska, Nobody Gets Out Alive is an exhilarating collection about women struggling to survive not just grizzly bears and charging moose, but the raw legacy of their marriages and families.
Alongside stories set in today’s Last Frontier—rife with suburban sprawl, global warming, and opioid addiction—Newman delves into remote wilderness of the 1970s and 80s, bringing to life young girls and single moms in search of a wilder, freer, more adventurous America. The final story takes place in a railroad camp in 1915, where an outspoken heiress stages an elaborate theatrical production in order to seduce the wife of her husband’s employer.
“Rich with wit and wisdom, showing us that love, marriage, and family are always a bigger and more perilous adventures than backcountry trips” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), these keenly observed stories prove there are some questions—about love, heartbreak, and the meaning of home—that can’t be outrun, no matter how hard we try. Nobody Gets Out Alive is a dazzling foil to the adventure narratives of old.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Newman's electric debut collection (after the memoir Still Points North) follows hardscrabble women in Alaska whose rough exteriors conceal myriad vulnerabilities. In "Howl Palace," a 67-year-old woman who goes by "Dutch" has gone through five husbands and grieved the loss of one too many of the black Labs she's cared for over the years in place of having children. Now, she's forced to put her beloved house up for sale. Though she knows any buyer will tear it down, she starts preparations for an elaborate open house feast, during which longtime crush Carl arrives to drop off a sick dog. In the captivating title story, newlywed Katrina avoids husband Carter at a party thrown by her best friend, Neil, where guests vault over the massive skull of a mastodon. Searching for Katrina, Carter reflects on how she "shot into his life like a blond, carnivorous meteor" when they met in New York City, and considers how she left behind her past life. Here and throughout, Newman's prose is both distinctive and efficient. In the dark and poignant "Slide and Glide," unemployed Bobby thinks his wife is cheating and suggests they take their family to a cabin in winter, a desperate and dangerous move that serves as a summation of how he's moved through life. The author's crisp portrayal of the Alaskan landscape and rugged culture holds the collection—and its magnetic characters—together. Newman firmly establishes herself as a talent with these stunning stories.
