''Delicate Edible Birds'' is a short story collection written by

Lauren Groff Lauren Groff (born July 23, 1978) is an American novelist and short story writer. She has written four novels and two short story collections, including '' Fates and Furies'' (2015), ''Florida'' (2018), and '' Matrix'' (2021). Early life and ed ...

. Groff was born and raised in

Cooperstown Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the C ...

, New York, home of American writers

James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonist and Indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought h ...

and W.W. Lord. Several of the stories take place in

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...

. Groff is also the author of the best-selling novel ''

The Monsters of Templeton ''The Monsters of Templeton'' is a dramatic novel written by Lauren Groff. Groff was born and raised in Cooperstown, New York. The name Templeton draws from the name devised for the town by James Fenimore Cooper, Cooperstown's most renowned author ...

''.

Summary

The anthology comprises nine dramatic stories, taken together, spanning a century. In each story, a slice of life of various American women is revealed. *"Lucky Chow Fun" takes place in the mythical Templeton (

Cooperstown, New York Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the C ...

), the setting of her first novel. In this tale, seventeen-year-old Lollie hopes to leave for college without looking back, but sinister events end up causing her to fear for the safety of her little sister and the future of her once-safe little town. *"L. Debard and Aliette" is a crafty re-telling of the story of

Abelard Peter Abelard (; french: link=no, Pierre Abélard; la, Petrus Abaelardus or ''Abailardus''; 21 April 1142) was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, poet, composer and musician. This source has a detailed desc ...

and

Héloïse Héloïse (; c. 1100–01? – 16 May 1163–64?), variously Héloïse d'ArgenteuilCharrier, Charlotte. Heloise Dans L'histoire Et Dans la Legende. Librairie Ancienne Honore Champion Quai Malaquais, VI, Paris, 1933 or Héloïse du Paraclet, wa ...

in New York amidst the

1918 flu pandemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

. *"Majorette" is a story of a young woman's personal growth in

Hershey, Pennsylvania Hershey is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is home to The Hershey Company, which was founded by candy magnate Milton S. Hershey. The community is lo ...

and the events that make her more worldly and the father and grandfather that always hold their little girl in deep affection. *"Blythe" is the story of a bored, introverted

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

attorney who has turned into a stay-at-home mom whose life changes when she takes a night class and meets an extroverted and eccentric woman who draws her out. *"The Wife of the Dictator" is a character study of a simple American girl who marries a Latin American dictator. Her fate is inexorably bound up with his. *"Sir Fleeting" is a story where a Midwestern farm girl on her honeymoon in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

falls into lifelong lust for a French playboy. *"Watershed" is a tragedy, between a husband and a wife, which proves the maxim "don't say things you'll later regret". *"Delicate Edible Birds" takes place during the fall of France. A disparate, but close group of War correspondents are held against their will by an evil French farmer who exacts a steep price in exchange for not turning them over to the Nazis.

Characters

* ''Lollie'', in "Lucky Chow Fun", is a seventeen-year-old high school senior hoping to leave for college without fear or regret, but suddenly finds her quaint small town to be a sinister place. * ''Aliette'', in "L. Debard and Aliette", is a young woman, temporarily felled by polio, who falls in love with the older L.Debard. * ''Bern'', in "Delicate Edible Birds", is a daring, attractive, female war correspondent, whose loss of personal honor in the name of the survival of others is an

allegory As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...

for France herself.

Reviews

*''Delicate Edible Birds by Lauren Groff'' Book Review by Claire Hopely, ''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...

'', February 22, 2009 *"Delicate Edible Birds: And Other Stories" Book Review, ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'', December 12, 2008

Accolades

* The title story "Delicate Edible Birds" was chosen for the Best American Short Stories 2010 anthology. * "L. Debard and Aliette" was a chosen for the Best American Short Stories 2007 anthology and was an O'Henry Recommended Story * "Lucky Chow Fun" won the Pushcart Prize in 2008

References

{{Lauren Groff American short story collections 2009 short story collections