Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea
Author | Sarah Pinsker |
---|---|
Language | English |
Genre | Speculative fiction |
Publisher | Small Beer Press |
Publication date | March 19, 2019 |
Publication place | United States |
Pages | 304 |
Award | Philip K. Dick Award |
ISBN | 978-1-61873-155-5 |
Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea is a 2019 short story collection by Sarah Pinsker. It includes thirteen stories, each incorporating elements of speculative fiction, most notably science fiction and fantasy.
Contents
- "A Stretch of Highway Two Lanes Wide"
- "And We Were Left Darkling" (originally published in Lightspeed, 2015[1])
- "Remembery Day"
- "Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea" (originally published in Lightspeed, 2016[2])
- "The Low Hum of Her"
- "Talking with Dead People"
- "The Sewell Home for the Temporally Displaced"
- "In Joy, Knowing the Abyss Behind" (originally published in Strange Horizons, 2013[3])
- "No Lonely Seafarer" (originally published in Lightspeed, 2014[4])
- "Wind Will Rove"
- "Our Lady of the Open Road"
- "The Narwhal"
- "And Then There Were (N-One)" (originally published in Uncanny Magazine, 2017[5])
Themes
Several critics noted the atmosphere of loss, nostalgia, music and reinvention throughout the collection.[6][7] Gary K. Wolfe, in a review for Locus, wrote that memory "may be [Pinsker's] characteristic theme".[8] Publishers Weekly wrote that "In all of Pinsker’s tales, humans grapple with their relationships to technology, the supernatural, and one another."[9] Michelle Anne Schingler of Foreword Reviews observed that yearning was integral to many of the stories in the collection.[10]
Many of the protagonists of the stories in some way rebel against or break the norms of their society.[11] Many stories feature characters whose communities have been displaced in some way,[12] and the impact of social and technological change on culture is a recurring theme.[13] Kirkus Reviews wrote that "Pinsker’s characters are often loners dedicated to idiosyncratic artistic pursuits".[11]
The collection also prominently features LGBT characters,[9] and many of its themes tie into gender and sexuality. Alexander Carrigan of Lambda Literary noted that "Pinsker presents characters who are all over the LGBT+ spectrum, and in many cases, it allows for further reading and exploration of each story’s themes and characters."[14]
Reception
The collection received critical acclaim, and was given starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Foreword Reviews, and Booklist.[9][15] It won the 2020 Philip K. Dick Award,[16] and was nominated for the World Fantasy Award—Collection, losing to Brian Evenson's Song for the Unraveling of the World.[17]
The collection was included in B&N Reads list of "The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Books of March 2019".[18] It also appeared on lists of the best books of 2019 by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,[19] Fantasy & Science Fiction,[20] and BuzzFeed.[21]
References
- ^ Wagner, Wendy (2015-08-18). "And We Were Left Darkling". Lightspeed Magazine. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
- ^ Wagner, Wendy (2016-02-16). "Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea". Lightspeed Magazine. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
- ^ words, Sarah Pinsker Issue: 1 July 2013 4027 (2013-07-01). "In Joy, Knowing the Abyss Behind (Part 1 of 2)". Strange Horizons. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Wagner, Wendy (2014-09-02). "No Lonely Seafarer". Lightspeed Magazine. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
- ^ Words, Sarah Pinsker in Uncanny Magazine Issue Fifteen | 23786. "And Then There Were (N-One)". Uncanny Magazine. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "SOONER OR LATER EVERYTHING FALLS INTO THE SEA". The Arkansas International. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
- ^ "Book Review: Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker #20BooksofSummer". Way Too Fantasy. 2020-08-04. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
- ^ "Gary K. Wolfe Reviews Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker". Locus Online. 2019-05-30. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
- ^ a b c "Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
- ^ "Review of Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea". www.forewordreviews.com. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
- ^ a b SOONER OR LATER EVERYTHING FALLS INTO THE SEA | Kirkus Reviews.
- ^ "Sooner or Later Sarah Pinsker Breaks Your Heart and Puts It Back Together All Weird". Fiction Unbound. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
- ^ Carroll, Tobias (April 1, 2019). "Where Futurism Meets the Liminal: The Short Fiction of Sarah Pinsker". Tor.com.
- ^ Carrigan, Alexander (2019-05-06). "'Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea' by Sarah Pinsker". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
- ^ Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea, by By Sarah Pinsker. | Booklist Online.
- ^ Liptak, Andrew (2020-04-11). "Sarah Pinsker's Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea Wins the 2020 Philip K. Dick Award". Tor.com. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
- ^ "sfadb: World Fantasy Awards 2020". www.sfadb.com. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
- ^ "The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Books of March 2019". B&N Reads. 2019-03-01. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
- ^ Higgins, Jim. "Best books of 2019: Jim Higgins' picks include 'One Day,' '10 Minutes 38 Seconds' and 'When Life Gives You Pears'". Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
- ^ "Fantasy and Science Fiction: Books To Look For by Charles de Lint". www.sfsite.com. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
- ^ Rebolini, Arianna. "37 Spring Books To Get Excited About". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2023-03-02.