“Plunkett’s strength is in the patience and precision of her interior and exterior landscapes. Like horses, too, these stories are full of beauty and elegance but also inscrutability, with Plunkett content to braid scenes and images together and let the mystery of their relationships abide. Wistful tales rendered with delicate writing and powerful perception.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“Plunkett hooks readers easily with carefully crafted first lines, drawing readers in with dead bodies, mysteries, and odd images. From there, the stories build momentum slowly, but precisely, spiraling out along tangential subplots.”

—Ian Macallen, Chicago Review of Books

“Genevieve Plunkett depicts the lives of women as they are really lived—with conflict and chaos, love and tenderness, and no small amount of confusion about what is supposed to come next. Each story reflects a different facet of the human condition, some glittering, some blinding, all shining a light on how impossible it can seem to figure out what it means to be alive, but also how worthwhile a pursuit it really is.”

—Kristin Iversen, Refinery29

“Plunkett’s striking debut puts a series of women’s interior lives in stark relief…Plunkett’s keen observations will pique readers, and the stories pay off with dividends.”

—Publishers Weekly

“Plunkett’s writing is mesmerizing in its even pacing, crisp prose and minute character insights…The neatness and precision of Plunkett’s writing is well-suited for the quiet but emotionally deep nature of her characters, who straddle the line between a too-lucid understanding of the world and a longing to escape into the imaginative realm of the ever-evasive could-be.”

—Shelf Awareness (starred review)

“[A] nuanced debut story collection…With bracing honesty, Plunkett’s richly drawn narratives bring emotional depth to the characters’ struggles and internal conflicts.”

—Booklist