🖋 The wonderful short stories of Edith Pearlman

The author, who found success later in life, passed away at 86. [READER]( The Daily Reader Sad to say, it took an obituary to alert me to the wonderful short stories of Edith Pearlman. In this case, Pearlman’s obituary, which I recently [read]( in The New York Times, just a few days after she died of cancer at age 86. Before that, I’m ashamed to admit, I hadn’t heard of her. Much less read her stories. The obituary said Pearlman was born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island in 1936. And her maiden name was Grossman. Which was a coincidence. I lived outside of Providence until I was ten. The man who sold insurance to my father was named Grossman. One of my few memories of life in Rhode Island is going with my father to Mr. Grossman’s house. A woman (his wife or daughter, I don’t know) served me soda. Of course, none of that was in the obit—it’s what I thought about as I read the obit. After graduating from Radcliffe, Edith Pearlman eventually married and moved to suburban Massachusetts. For years she toiled in obscurity, writing short stories for literary magazines on a typewriter in the basement of her home. By 2011, she had written dozens and dozens of stories, known mainly by the small clan of sophisticated short story fanatics who read literary magazines. It all changed for Pearlman when she got a call from an editor named Ben George, who wanted to anthologize much of her work. George convinced Ann Patchett, the novelist, to write an intro—which was glowing. The anthology, Binocular Vision, won a rave write-up on the [front page of The New York Times Book Review]( by Roxana Robinson, another prominent novelist, that began with the following question: “Why in the world had I never heard of Edith Pearlman?” Binocular Vision was a bestseller. And at age 74, Edith Pearlman became an overnight literary sensation. As fiction lovers everywhere started reading her stories. Well, except for me. Somehow I missed it all until, as I said, I read her obit in the New York Times. As soon as I could, I bought a copy of Binocular Vision. And like Ann Patchett and Roxana Robinson, I was hooked. Almost every story’s a gem, with quirky characters and surprising twists. Pearlman’s got a taste for magical realism—at least, fantastic things happen to her characters, generally as they're dreaming. And so it was that . . . I was up late reading her stories, when I found myself back in Mr. Grossman’s office with my father. A woman offered me a soda. I said: “Oh, my God, you’re Edith Pearlman!” And she said: “No, it’s Grossman.” And I said: “Yes, I know. Now you’re Edith Grossman. But one day you’ll marry a guy named Pearlman and you’ll be Edith Pearlman. And you’ll be a great writer.” And she said: “Who are you and how do you know these things?” But before she could answer, I awoke. Damn, Edith Pearlman’s stories are so good, they’ve taken over my dreams. Listen to [The Ben Joravsky Show]( [What Ben's Reading] [I Am Not Sidney Poitier]( another hilarious novel by Percival Everett, who is, I’m convinced, the most brilliant novelist in America today [Aaron Gettinger]( on the council’s newbie caucus [Ben Joravsky]( don’t believe the Tribune’s editorials [Best of the Ben J. Show]( Illinois State Representative [Kam Buckner]( on running for mayor [Emma Tai]( executive director of United Working Families, on a new city council [Monroe Anderson]( on Willie Wilson [Lightfoot looks back]( Ahead of the February 28 election, the mayor talks to the Reader about the past four years. by [Aaron Gettinger]( | [Read h]( → [How Chicago fell for crypto]( While lawmakers cozied up to cryptocurrency firms, crypto fraudsters fleeced Illinois residents. by [Tatiana Walk-Morris]( | [Read h]( → [Sentrock takes flight]( The Chicago artist’s long-awaited solo show at the Elmhurst Art Museum. by [Cristobal Alday]( | [Read]( → [Present absence]( How a curator and a group of artists came together in the face of institutional silencing by [David Riedel]( | [Read here]( → 🗞 [Become a member]( of the Reader! 🗞 In addition to the member-only lapel pin seen above, you’ll receive early access to the new issues, discounted entry to Reader-sponsored events, as well as extras and surprises. [JOIN FOR $5 TODAY]( [Issue of Jan. 26 – Feb. 8, 2023 Vol. 52, No. 8]( [Download Issue [PDF]]( [View this e-mail as a web page]( [@chicago_reader]( [/chicagoreader]( [@chicago_reader]( [Chicago Reader on LinkedIn]( [/chicagoreader]( [chicagoreader.com]( [Forward this e-mail to a friend](. Want to change how you receive these e-mails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. Copyright © 2023 Chicago Reader, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Chicago Reader, 2930 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 102, Chicago, IL 60616