cover image Elegies for Uncanny Girls

Elegies for Uncanny Girls

Jennifer Colville. Indiana Univ., $19 ISBN 978-0-253-02429-9

The 10 resonant tales in Colville’s debut depict the inner lives of mothers, daughters, sisters, brothers, and the occasional best friend. The opener, “Other Mothers,” tells the story of a newly minted Ph.D.’s desperate worry for her infant, with knowing wit and exceptional figurative language. In “Center,” an aspiring poet/scholar visits her brother, a struggling artist now supported by his wife, and Colville’s crisp, revealing dialogue delves into the adoration and resentment of siblinghood. Sibling strife also informs the shorter “Costume” and “Dora,” and the longer “Winona,” in which the titular teenager comes of age surrounded by her overly enamored younger brother, her unintentionally caustic mother, and Norm, her symbolically named father, who objectifies his wife and daughter while depending on their domestic labor. A few stories feature fantastical elements—Jill in “Jill, or the Big Little Lady,” for instance, fluctuates from Barbie-sized to giantess—but these daring inventions don’t always pay off. The endings, likewise, range from the transcendent benediction of the wistful quasi-romance “When Maggie Thinks of Matt” to the inelegant moral of “Audra,” a playground drama about friendship and class. Still, the book as a whole is brisk, satisfying, and fiercely observant. (Feb.)