Love Letters From a Fat Man by Naomi Benaron

Love Letters from a Fat Man, winner of the G.S. Sharat Chandra Prize for Short Fiction.

I introduce Naomi Benaron, whose short story will be appearing in the next issue of Munyori Literary Journal. Benaron, MFA Antioch, professor of Creative Writing and Geology in Tuscon, Arizona, has published short story in journals and anthologies. Her award-winning short story collection has been hailed by Gayle Bandeis as "fearless" because it "shines into the darkest corners of human existence and, in doing so, helps us both bear witness to atrocity and find hope and healing." Brad Kessler describes the stories as "tender, knowing, sometimes wicked, often wise, always heartfelf."

Love Letters from a Fat Man is one of the books on my reafing list. I have already found the title story to be innovative in style in its utilization of the email format. The stories set in Rwanda seem promising too, and I am always drawn to this introduction of one them: "Lake Kivu...was formed on the hot, dry plains of northwestern Rwanda when a selfish and deceitful wife squatted down in her fields to relieve herself. As punishment for her bad behavior, Imana made her waters flow until her fields were covered, and she drowned." With the allusion to this legend, I am immediately drawn into the world of the story.

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