We Only Know So Much (26 page)

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Author’s Picks

A
S A RULE
, I don’t tend to seek out any particular reading material when I’m starting a new writing project. That said, on some unconscious level, some things do seep in. Generally, my taste in reading is a bit all over the map—I tend to gravitate to things that are weird, or offbeat, or surreal, or untraditional in some way, whether it’s a matter of structure or a voice that to my ear sounds like a real person is talking to me.

These were some of the writers who inspired me during the time I spent working on this book.

Deb Olin Unferth:
Minor Robberies
. Worth it for the story “Deb Olin Unferth” alone, but every last story is a little gem.

Lydia Davis: Do yourself a favor and just get
The Collected Stories
. If you read one, you’ll want to read more. A huge inspiration.

Steven Millhauser:
Dangerous Laughter
. Third-person plural, weird worlds, amazing images and language—what’s not to love?

Donald Antrim:
The Hundred Brothers
. Holy crap, this book blew my mind. This is the kind of book that makes you think you can write a book like this, but you can’t. (You, here = me.)

Colum McCann:
Let the Great World Spin
. Another one that rocked my world. Gorgeously written, seamlessly interwoven storylines in my hometown and my era: messed-up, grungy, crime-ridden 1970s NYC! Yeah!

Patrick Somerville:
The Universe in Miniature in Miniature
. Dude can write some freaking sentences.

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ALSO BY ELIZABETH CRANE

You Must Be This Happy to Enter

All This Heavenly Glory

When the Messenger Is Hot

Credits

Designed by Michael Correy

Cover design and photography by Robin Bilardello

Cover Photograph © Chris Wofford

Cover Photograph © Ben Brandt

Copyright

P.S.™ is a trademark of HarperCollins Publishers.

WE ONLY KNOW SO MUCH.
Copyright © 2012 by Elizabeth Crane. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks.

FIRST EDITION

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

ISBN 978-0-06-209947-1

Epub Edition © JUNE 2012 ISBN: 9780062099488

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¹
A similar one makes a guest appearance in this book.

²
The opposite actually happened to me. I ran into an ex who couldn’t remember me at all. In real life, this guy was essentially unfazed (and in turn, knowing him, I was unfazed by his unfazedness), entirely unlike the way Gordon responds. But the incident sparked my imagination to think about how a relatively sane person would react in the same situation.

³
Yes, she does have a name, Alice, and it’s a nice one I think, so henceforth I will use it.