The Pelican Child: Stories

"Joy Williams is adept in the art of estrangement – in literally making the mundane strange. The short stories in her latest collection are spiny little nuggets of jamais vu. Sure, they tend to bear the distinguishing characteristics of the familiar world, with all its stressed assistants and heiresses and bewildered man-children. But they’re also moved by some alien inner logic that can be disquietingly difficult to discern. In Williams’ hands, reality is a changeling with a wicked sense of humor."