FICTION

Disruptions: Stories

Knopf. Aug. 2023. 288p. ISBN 9780593535417. $28. F
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In his latest collection, Pulitzer Prize winner Millhauser (Voices in the Night) offers well-paced, distinctively written stories that cast suburbia in an eerie, sometimes twisted light. A woman drinks alone in her well-appointed home, a caller is drawn into heartfelt meditations by a prerecorded customer service message, and a teenage boy spends a disturbing evening with his girlfriend’s mother. More alarmingly, a narrator talks casually of beheadings meant to counter the break-ins and robberies that have disturbed a once-quiet town, and a tour guide calmly relates a creepy story reminiscent of the Pied Piper. Throughout, there’s a beautiful consistency of language and voice, yet each story is distinctive.
VERDICT Another winner from an expert in short fiction and well-crafted disquiet.
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