The Office of Historical Corrections: A Novella and Stories
Hardback | English
By (author): Danielle Evans
''Sublime short stories of race, grief, and belonging . . . an extraordinary new collection''
New Yorker
''Evans''s new stories present rich plots reflecting on race relations, grief, and love''
New York Times, Editor''s Choice
''Brilliant . . . These stories are sly and prescient, a nuanced reflection of the world we are living in''
Roxane Gay
Danielle Evans is widely acclaimed for her blisteringly smart voice and X-ray insights into complex human relationships. With The Office of Historical Corrections, Evans zooms in on particular moments and relationships in her characters'' lives in a way that allows them to speak to larger issues of race, culture, and history.
We meet Black and multi-racial characters who are experiencing the universal confusions of lust and love, and getting walloped by grief - all while exploring how history haunts us, personally and collectively. Ultimately, she provokes us to think about the truths of American history - about who gets to tell them, and the cost of setting the record straight.
In ''Boys Go to Jupiter'' a white college student tries to reinvent herself after a photo of her in a Confederate flag bikini goes viral. In ''Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain'' a photojournalist is forced to confront her own losses while attending an old friend''s unexpectedly dramatic wedding. And in the eye-opening title novella, a Black scholar from Washington DC is drawn into a complex historical mystery that spans generations and puts her job, her love life, and her oldest friendship at risk.