Alicia Erian, whose work has appeared in The Iowa Review, Zoetrope, and Nerve, casts aside traditional notions of right and wrong and conjures up situations that are at once familiar and unsettling. Her characters—flawed, brave, disarming, affectionate—inhabit the not-so-very-wide space between a good intention and a bad outcome. In “Alcatraz,” we meet a middle-school spelling champion who spends her afternoons taking baths with the boy next door. In “Almonds and Cherries,” a young woman turns an unexpectedly arousing bra-shopping experience into a short film, with ramifications for everyone around her. These surprising, provocative, and deeply resonant stories mark the emergence of a major new talent.
Born in Syracuse, New York, Alicia Erian received her B.A. in English from SUNY Binghamton and her M.F.A. in writing from Vermont College. Her work has appeared in Zoetrope and the Iowa Review. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, David Franklin, with who she will soon be directing her first feature film.
“Erian’s voice is so powerful that her words seem to unshackle themselves from the page and resound like a monologue spoken by your wittiest friend.”
—Entertainment Weekly
“Very, very funny...[Erian] is the lovechild of Candace Bushnell and J. D. Salinger.”
—The Independent (London)
“[The Brutal Language of Love] packs a sexually charged, bracing wallop uniquely its own.”
—Los Angeles Times
“Erian writes with wit and insight....[She] is well aware of our romantic foibles, but she also believes in the basic goodness of human nature.”
—The Washington Post
“Erian’s characters have an almost paradoxical innocence....Humor infuses [these] tales...with a free-floating verve.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“This isn’t just a book. This is hilarious, heartbreaking torture.”
—Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club
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| Tuesday, May 29 at 7:30pm |
| MARK DERY discusses and signs his essay collection I MUST NOT THINK BAD THOUGHTS |
| Monday, June 4 at 7:30pm |
| LEIGH BARDUGO reads and signs her young adult novel SHADOW & BONE |
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