In Envy Country Stories [Paperback]

Set in Paris, California, Italy, and Spain, Joan Frank's second story collection explores the uncertainties and triumphs of women and men in and out of love and marriage, at varying ages and stages of contemporary American life. By turns wry, pained, and amused,In Envy Countryinvestigates those small, complex truths that gain clarity with time and distance.

"Joan Frank shows us ourselves. . . . Meticulously observed, with sentences that will make you stop and go back for another look." --Ehud Havazelet, author ofBearing the BodyandLike Never Before

"These stories each have a wonderful, intimate feel. . . . Written with authority and intelligence, they are layered and subtle . . . serious, and yet take us back to the sense of discovery; reading them is fun." --Elizabeth Strout, author of Olive Kitteridge and Abide with Me 

"Nothing escaps Joan Frank; her stories of not-so-innocent bystanders gleam with subtlety, intelligence, and sly wit." --Brian Morton, author ofBreakable YouandStarting Out in the Evening

"A worldly collection in all the best ways; a writer of unusual wit, sophistication, and psychological insight; reading these pages is a pleasure." --Margot Livesey, author ofThe House on Fortune Street

"The uneasy balance of power between male and female binds this sharp collection of stories . . . Frank works every aspect of these feminist stories with relentless energy, and readers will be sure to pay attention." --Publishers Weekly

"Bay Area writer Joan Frank's fourth work of fiction, the very readable new collection "In Envy Country," . . . offers the pleasures of a gossipy chat with an astute and clever friend. This friend also has a dark wit, a playful way with language and ilS�