Jenny and the Jaws of Life Short Stories [Paperback]

In these wonderfully funny and poignant stories, Willett's eccentric, complex characters think and do the unconventional. Soft, euphonic women gradually grow old; weak, unhappy men confront love and their own mortality; and abominable children desperately try to grow up with grace. With a unique voice and dry humor, Willett gives us a new insight into human existence, showing us those specific moments in relationships when life suddenly becomes visible.

Critically acclaimed when it was first published in 1987,Jenny and the Jaws of Lifeis being brought back due to popular demand. It's a timeless collection filled with a certain freshness and wit that ring just as loudly today.

Jincy Willettis a writer and editor based in San Diego, CA. Her short stories have appeared inPlaygirl, The Yale Review,and theMassachusetts Review.

If I could rescue one book, I think it would beJenny and the Jaws of Life. . . . It's just the funniest collection of stories I've ever read-really funny and perfectly sad at the same time. There was a story in the book called 'The Best of Betty,' which was written in the form of letters to a household-hints author, and it was just perfection. Perfection. David Sedaris

A triumphant collection. . . . From a reader Willett can provoke whoops of laughter, wonderment and grim speculation about the brevity of good times for human beings. There's an admirable toughness to her writing as she encompasses the contradictions and uncontrollability of life. She uses words with devastating preciseness. Chicago Tribune

Marvelous. . . The language is tight, the scenes are built like blocks until an unexpected end that Willett works in a kind of gothic 'Gotcha.' She's a master of modern technique. Don't expect your usual short story here. Winston-Salem Journal

Willett's fiction presents a cavalcade of accidents and tragedies, of mishaps and maladies and emergenlsO