I understand if you missed it in hardback when it was released last January. You're a busy person. And there are just so many books to read. But now that it's out in paperback, allow me to remind you: Amy Bloom's story collection Where the God of Love Hangs Out was one of the best books of 2010. Somehow it escaped our best-of-the-year list, probably because I read it so long ago and/or am an increasingly addled person.
In any case, Random House has published a paperback edition, and if you're searching for a book club selection, Bloom offers plenty to talk about. Some of the stories are linked; others aren't. Either way, you can't quite shake their lingering effects.
Here's what I wrote in my review last year:
"Where the God of Love Hangs Out is Bloom's third collection of stories, and one is tempted to say it's her best. But such assessments are difficult. Author of the highly praised novels Love Invents Us and Away, Bloom also gave us the terrific National Book Award finalist Come to Me and the evocatively titled A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You, which was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Say, then, that Where the God of Love Hangs Out is compelling, moving, shocking, written with compasion and understanding and generously reflective of the fragility of our lives."
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