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Where the God of Love Hangs out Paperback – 4 Mar. 2010

by Amy Bloom (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars 169 ratings
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A young woman struggles to come to terms with her friend's murder; a man and his daughter-in-law confess their sins in the most unlikely of places; a daughter returns to her hated father's house to care for him in his final days and discovers an unexpected bond; and, in a set of interlocking stories, two middle-aged friends, married to others, find themselves irresistibly sexually drawn to one another. In this sensuous, funny, and heartbreaking new book, Amy Bloom explores the unexpected patterns that love, and its absence, weave into our lives. With her generous and clear-eyed understanding of human complexity and contrariness, the award-winning author takes us to the margins and centres of people's lives, introducing us to some of her most unforgettable characters yet.
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  1. Print length
    192 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Granta Books
  4. Publication date
    4 Mar. 2010
  5. Dimensions
    13 x 1.5 x 21 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    1847081681
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1847081681
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Product description

Review

'Unforgettably good. Each of these stories is like a tiny perfect novel. Amy Bloom is one of the greats' --Charlotte Mendelson

`Her sentences are clear and inviting and moment by moment the stories ring emotionally true. This is unrelentingly pleasurable fiction'
--Lionel Shriver, Financial Times

`Compassionate, witty and wise, these stories are an artful blend of grand passion and more mundane domestic detail' --Daily Mail

`Her writing is so distilled, so economical and clever ... she has said everything there is to say, quite perfectly' --Sunday Telegraph

`A brilliantly crafted collection of intertwined stories ... peppered with surprises and rich with humour and fondness for the characters' --Metro

'This is a great piece of fiction, thought provoking, and highly entertaining'
--Irish Times

About the Author

A Amy Bloom is the author of three collections of short stories, Where the God of Love Hangs Out (Granta, 2010), Come to Me and A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You, also published in one volume Rowing to Eden(Granta, 2015), a collection of essays, Normal, andfour novels, White Houses (Granta, 2018) Lucky Us (Granta, 2014), Away (Granta, 2007),and Love Invents Us. She is the Shapiro-Silverberg Professor of Creative Writing at Wesleyan University.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Granta Books
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ 4 Mar. 2010
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1847081681
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1847081681
  • Item weight ‏ : ‎ 458 g
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13 x 1.5 x 21 cm
  • Best Sellers Rank: 31,281 in Short Stories (Books)
  • Customer reviews:
    3.9 out of 5 stars 169 ratings

About the author

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Amy Bloom

Amy Bloom

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Author of three New York Times best-sellers and three collections of short stories, a children’s book and a ground-breaking collection of essays. Bloom has been a nominee for both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her stories have appeared in Best American Short Stories, Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards, and numerous anthologies here and abroad. She has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, O Magazine and Vogue, among many other publications, and has won a National Magazine Award for Fiction. Her work has been translated into fifteen languages.

She has written many pilot scripts, for cable and network, and she created, wrote and ran the excellent, short-lived series State of Mind, starring Lili Taylor. She is now Wesleyan University’s Shapiro-Silverberg Professor of Creative Writing.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
169 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers praise the book's writing quality, with one noting the author's ability to understand the human heart. Moreover, they appreciate the story length, with one review mentioning that some stories are almost novellas. Additionally, customers find the reading experience positive, with one describing it as immensely satisfying.

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Story lengthReading qualityWriting quality
4 customers mention ‘Story length’4 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the story length of the book, with one mentioning that some stories are almost novellas.

"...Bloom constantly changes perspectives which make the stories very rounded and immensely satisfying...." Read more

"...Some stories are almost novellas, and they are all worth reading...." Read more

"...The mark of a great story is that it should bear many re-readings." Read more

"Although these are short stories, each one is long enough to draw you in...." Read more

3 customers mention ‘Reading quality’3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book worth reading, with one describing it as immensely satisfying and another finding it very engaging.

"...changes perspectives which make the stories very rounded and immensely satisfying...." Read more

"...Some stories are almost novellas, and they are all worth reading...." Read more

"Very engaging..." Read more

3 customers mention ‘Writing quality’3 positive0 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, with one customer noting how the author understands the complexities of the human heart.

"...The prose is that good. From the first page, you know you are in the presence of a great writer who also understands the vagaries of the human heart...." Read more

"...The stories are about real people in the real US and the characters are interesting, hateful or loveable or just real...." Read more

"...She writes really well about people and there's a fresh and original quality to her prose. Really enjoyed this book" Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • K. Golding
    5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful writing
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 May 2015
    Verified Purchase
    When I finished this book, I did something I've never done before - I went back and read it again. The prose is that good. From the first page, you know you are in the presence of a great writer who also understands the vagaries of the human heart. Bloom constantly changes perspectives which make the stories very rounded and immensely satisfying. One reviewer said they nearly gave up reading because the start of the first story made it feel as if it were going to be about "pensioner sex" - well, firstly, as someone rather advanced in years, I see nothing wrong with that! and, secondly, the story is about so, so much more than sex.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Ransen Owen
    4.0 out of 5 stars An initially slow start but with more interest as you move through the book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 May 2010
    Verified Purchase
    I almost gave up on the book, because the start of first story I found a bit depressing. It seemed like a story of "pensioner sex" and I just did not want to read about it. Then the pace and interest in the first story picked up, as it did with the rest of the book.

    The stories are about real people in the real US and the characters are interesting, hateful or loveable or just real.

    Some stories are almost novellas, and they are all worth reading. Sometimes I had to reread sentences because who is doing what is not always explictly stated, I had to work a bit harder than normal. But that might just be me.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Aline P'nina Tayar
    3.0 out of 5 stars Think twice about buying
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 April 2017
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    If you have read Rowing to Eden you will be more than annoyed to find some of the same short stories in this anthology. You'll feel ripped off in fact. Cornered into re-reading, I thought the shine and energy was diminished. The mark of a great story is that it should bear many re-readings.
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  • clara76
    5.0 out of 5 stars Unexpectedly Brilliant!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 September 2011
    I'm not - or hadn't been until I read this - a fan of short story collections (one-offs I like...). So this took me utterly by surprise! Often when writing is so well-crafted it loses emotion. However both were in abundance in this collection - so much so that I immediately sought out her entire back-catalogue. This book is just beautiful.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • J. Ang
    4.0 out of 5 stars Love and Other Monsters
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 August 2024
    Verified Purchase
    This collection presents tainted, ugly and misshapen love - without judgement or approval. With an unflinching gaze, Bloom exacts a kind of uneasy grace on these flawed and even taboo couplings and relationships.

    Best friends turned latter-day adulterers Clare and William are the main characters in the first four stories that make up almost a novella, as each story traces the different stages of their doomed relationship and how it affects their respective families.

    A pair of adult siblings share the trauma inflicted by an abusive father in need of care in his latter years in “Between Here and Here”, while a widow finds her relationship with her stepson morphing into something other than just maternal in another series of loosely connected stories.

    Through all these less-than-perfect characters, Bloom presents a palette of human failings in all their damaged glory, daring the reader to cast the first stone.
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  • seethroughfaith
    2.0 out of 5 stars Glad it was a cheap purchase
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 January 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Not a very good read at all ... I didn't like the style. It wasn't what I expected from the preview
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  • joanna h morrison
    4.0 out of 5 stars Very engaging
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 January 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Although these are short stories, each one is long enough to draw you in. She writes really well about people and there's a fresh and original quality to her prose. Really enjoyed this book
    One person found this helpful
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  • Brugnettini Eva
    4.0 out of 5 stars Great
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 June 2010
    A very interesting collection of short stories, about love and relationships. Subtle, very well-written, it makes you read it in a few days. Loved it!
    4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Mr. August
    5.0 out of 5 stars "Every Death Is Violent"
    Reviewed in the United States on 19 May 2010
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    One of Bloom's stories in this eclectic compilation starts out with my title for this review. It was a shocking first sentence but Bloom supported this pronouncement with a rather gruesome story and the deaths described were indeed brutal and vicious. Each story in this excellent collection shocked me with Bloom's ability to look into a person or a family and pull out the meaning of love and ultimately, death. She is one of the most capable writers and her short stories are ones that could be studied for literary technique and narrative excellence.

    Bloom tackled all types of love. The most impressive story was the one of Julia, a white woman, who marries a black musician. The have one child together and she accepts his son from another marriage as her own, and much more. Julia's love affair with her children and extended family depicts a strong, sexual woman who is capable of love on many levels. Bloom gives us unforgettable characters in either common or surreal situations.

    Another story I will likely not forget concerns a widower and his two children, who almost hate him. In spite of their disapproval of how he treated their mother, they perform their duty and see to his welfare. There is a Jewish edge to this story, one of guilt and some despair - very insightful.

    This small anthology is quite an achievement and places Bloom at the top of fictional literary talent. Short stories are difficult to write. There usually is an abrupt ending or no ending at all. Bloom seems to manage both techniques with panache.
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  • Carol Anita Ryan
    4.0 out of 5 stars The God of Love can be messy
    Reviewed in the United States on 28 March 2011
    Verified Purchase
    There is something I like about the length of a short story or a chapter. If it is just right it entertains and enlightens for just the right duration. Sometimes a good short story involves such interesting characters or plot, that a novel is desired. Amy Bloom's book,
    "Where the God of Love Hangs Out", consists of four sets of stories of characters followed over time, or from different perspectives. It's a good compromise between a novel and a book of unrelated short stories, especially for those of us who aren't fans of the short story genre. Two of the sets of stories were compelling enough to expand into novels, I thought.

    The book explores various situations where love makes fools of the characters by pushing them beyond acceptable norms. Some of the situations make one squeamish. Would I ever do such a thing? I won't disturb the suspense by revealing the plots but there is good writing to enjoy along the way. For example "it's what a desperately hungry person with no taste buds might grab while running through a burning house". You don't need to be desperately hungry to enjoy this book!
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  • Indigobookshelf
    3.0 out of 5 stars Lacks the soul and luster of Bloom's previous short story collections
    Reviewed in the United States on 21 July 2011
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    Amy Bloom is a gifted storyteller, a master of her craft, and a writer of what I call approachable and readable short stories. Her prose is refreshing because it's not as experimental or edgy as many other contemporary short story writers. Her previous collection Come to Me ranks as one of the best I've ever read. Her writing is lush, evocative and melodic, like a novel that has been condensed, with enticing and unforgettable characters. Her stories are soulful, brim with color and affection, toasty, like sitting fireside with a close friend who breaks all the rules, affairs, unorthodox family and sexual relationships, behavior on the fringe, but who is still very human.

    Bloom's latest collection, Where the God of Love Hangs Out, is well written, tight, her craft is evident, but the stories lack the magic, luster and brilliance of her previous collections. They're not as raw or revelatory, the voice is not as immediate; the characters don't stay with you long after you've turned the page. The two best stories I found in the collection are Your Borders, Your Rivers, Your Tiny Villages about middle-aged friends who become lovers and then marry to dire consequences, and Sleepwalking about a mother who becomes intimate with her stepson, and the familial dynamic that ensues. The first four stories are linked stories about the previously mentioned couple William and Clare, and Sleepwalking is accompanied by three other linked stories, following the mother Julia and her stepson Lionel throughout the years

    Bloom's new story collection was highly praised and reviewed by critics, but for me, a far cry from her signature style.
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  • jmz
    5.0 out of 5 stars Rebelling against "normal" love.
    Reviewed in the United States on 7 July 2010
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    Amy Bloom never seems to write about the kind of love found in romance novels, but, as we all know, those types of stories are merely fantasy, something we like to throw ourselves into to pretend it is real and it is we who are the characters.

    No, this does not interest Bloom. What interests her is the type of love that is based on yearning or loss or absence of something or someone. It's atypical. It's not...normal. And that is why I love reading Bloom's stories.

    In this collection of short stories, you'll find a woman and man desperately needing each other while married. They sneak, cheat and lie, but eventually come together. You'll feel the longing, the need, the sadness, the loss. We are not perfect animals. We need and want and some of us are brave (and maybe stupid) enough to go out and take what we want.

    You'll also find a more taboo subject in this book -- incest? Is that what we can call it? I guess it is. It is a quick love built out of death and loss and need to feel something. It is a love that crushes relationships and tears people apart. Can it be overcome? You'll have to read and see.

    I love Bloom's take on love. Her characters are real and wonderfully developed. Her words flow and vibrate with emotions we've all felt but maybe don't talk about. Her stories can be shocking, but she's not writing them for shock value. All these things are there in our world; Bloom is just brave enough to write about it.
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  • B. Pinner
    4.0 out of 5 stars Love can be complicated!
    Reviewed in the United States on 7 April 2010
    Verified Purchase
    This was my book club selection for May. I approached it with a reserved commitment to read it . At first the style of writing appeared a little disjointed to me. I couldn't figure out who was doing what in the first story. The characters were not familiar to me until the middle of the story. Then I was hooked. My internal conversation on the realization that Amy Bloom is so objective in her protrayal of each character found me feeling empathy for everybody. The simple act of loving someone can be so complicated, but well worth it. Love has many faces and Bloom does a great job of presenting us with examples in "Where the God of Love Hangs Out".

    This was a thought wrenching book.
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