If I loved you, I would tell you this

Random House, 2010

San Francisco Chronicle  §  Irish Times Top Book of 2010  §  Short Listed for The Frank O’Connor International Short Story Prize  §  Long Listed for The Story Prize  §  A Denver Post Bestseller  §  Winner, The Athenaeum of Philadelphia Literary Prize  §  Summer Reading Pick, O:  The Oprah Magazine

“Should Alice Munro ever fulfill her threat of retirement, readers can turn to Black for solace.  Grade: A.”

—Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Black delivers real emotion, the kind that gives you pause….I want to shout about how just when you thought no one could write a story with any tinge of freshness let alone originality about childhood. . . about marriage…about old age, Black has done it.”

—Alan Cheuse, Chicago Tribune

“A ‘Fantastic Voyage’ into the bloodstream of the human species….Maybe it’s midlife maturity, maybe it’s raw talent, but If I Loved You leaves you longing for more. . . And the writing . . . oh, the writing.”

—Meredith Maren, San Francisco Chronicle

“So deft, so understated, and so compelling . . . Fans of Mary Gaitskill, Amy Bloom, and Miranda July will feel like they’ve found gold in a river when they discover Robin Black.”

—O: The Oprah Magazine

“In every story, [Black] creates wonderful little images, sees symbols, double meanings, poetry everywhere…. Powerful and touching . . . Stories sparkling with poetic vision.”

—The Philadelphia Inquirer

“Eight years of writing and revision result in a high-caliber short story collection reminiscent of works by Atwood and Paley….illustrates the fragmented, disconnected nature of our civic lives with heart-stopping clarity.”

—Library Journal (Starred Review)

“A wonderfully rich and rewarding story collection. . . for fans of Alice Munro or Lorrie Moore.”

—Louisville Courier-Journal

“Each story…in this collection is a mini work of art….They teach life lessons and change the way you view the world.”

—Irish Examiner

“An auspicious debut.”

—Kirkus (Starred Review)

“Characters so fully imagined you’ll feel they’re in the room.”

—People

“Exquisitely distilled tales of loss and reckoning.”

—Vogue

“Robin Black stakes out some of the emotional territory occupied by Alice Munro, Amy Bloom and Lorrie Moore….A nuanced portrait of the heart that repays careful reading.”

—Financial Times