The Whore's Child

The Whore's Child

Summary

In this entrancing first collection of stories, a master storyteller focuses on a fresh and fascinating range of human behaviour, revealing himself as an even more versatile and accomplished writer than his acclaimed novels have shown.

As with all Russo's characters, we warm to these newcomers almost in spite of themselves. In the title story, a septuagenarian nun resolutely invades the narrator's college writing workshop with an incredible saga; a seasoned Hollywood moviemaker uncovers a 25-year-old flame he never knew he'd harboured; a precious fifth-grader puzzles over life, love and baseball as he watches his parents' marriage dissolve; another child is forced into a harrowing cross-country escape; and an elderly couple rediscover the power - and misery - of their relationship during a long-awaited retreat to a hurricane-swept resort island.

Reviews

  • A master at examining subtly, from a different angle each time, the tensions that arise in long-term relationships
    The Times

About the author

Richard Russo

Learn More

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more