Elizabeth Crane

Elizabeth Crane is the author of several collections of short stories, including Turf, When the Messenger is Hot, All this Heavenly Glory, and You Must Be This Happy to Enter, a memoir, This Story Will Change, as well as two novels, We Only Know So Much and The History of Great Things.

Crane's latest story collection is That May Not Mean What You Think.

[Q&A with Elizabeth Crane]

Recently I asked the author about what she was reading. Crane's reply:

Currently reading and loving and almost finished with two books:

Nonfiction: Three Tenses by Ed Park.

In this book, every sentence in the book begins with the word 'in'. See what I did there? This is the kind of book I read and wish that I could ever think of such a simple but brilliant idea, and then actually execute it with the lovely, thoughtful, and often humorous prose with which Park sets it down.

Fiction: My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante.

I know. I was very, very late to the Neapolitan series, but now that I'm here, I am all in. I'm not sure what I can really add to the conversation about the beauty and the complexity of the prose and the story except to say I get it now, and hope I can bring a fraction of that beauty if I'm ever able to write the friendship story I wish to write someday.

Two more I read recently that I also admired greatly:

Nonfiction: Things In Nature Merely Grow by Yiyun Li.

This book is the exploration of the profound loss of her son(s) to suicide. Her ability to write about how we continue exist after loss is nothing less than exquisite.

Fiction: Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout.

I have in recent years become a big fan of Strout, and love that her books continue to explore and develop recurring characters, or add new characters to this world, without ever feeling anything less than fresh. This book in particular felt slightly different in tone, perhaps with a wee bit more of an edge, but in a way that didn't stray from her tight, observant, recognizably concise prose, and I think it deserves all the attention it's getting right now.

Visit Elizabeth Crane's website.

Writers Read: Elizabeth Crane (April 2008).

The Page 69 Test: We Only Know So Much.

My Book, The Movie: We Only Know So Much.

Coffee with a Canine: Elizabeth Crane & Percy.

Q&A with Elizabeth Crane.

--Marshal Zeringue