You Should Pity Us Instead

Written by Amy Gustine

Narrated by Cindy Kay and Mike Ortego

Marked by a sure grasp of unusual subject matter and unfurling in gorgeous prose, the stories in You Should Pity Us Instead explore some of our toughest dilemmas: the cost of Middle East strife at its most intimate level, the likelihood of God considered in day to day terms, the moral stakes of family obligations, and the inescapable fact of mortality. Also, fundamentally, love in its many guises--family, romantic, friendship--each ensnared by rigorous demands and responsibilities. In the scary and heartbreaking "All theSons of Cain,"an Israeli woman sneaks into Gaza to reclaim her captive son from militants. In the title story, two families--one Atheist, the other Christian--confront the limits of their beliefs. "Goldene Medene"takes us to 19th century Ellis Island, where a doctor evaluates immigrants and, in blue chalk, marks his life-changing verdicts on their backs. Amy Gustine exhibits anextraordinary generosity toward her characters, instilling them with a thriving, vivid presence. You Should Pity Us Instead presents an artist of dynamic and capacious vision, one who can delineate the heart's most strenuous knots, and one capable of inhabiting most any life, no matter how disparate or obscure.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Everand Productions
• Release date: Aug 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9781094419800

Amy Gustine

Amy Gustine is the author of the short story collection You Should Pity Us Instead, which was a finalist for the 2017 Ohioana Book Award for Fiction. Her stories and essays have also appeared in The Chicago Tribune's Printers Row Journal, Black Warrior Review, The Kenyon Review, and many other venues. Her work has received Special Mention in the Pushcart Prize Anthology.

Reviews for You Should Pity Us Instead

[Karen Chandler · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a compilations of sad stories that needed to be told.

[Nanette Oosthuizen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I must say that I did not like the short stories thrown together. Although I liked the stories, you get engaged in a story and then there is another story that you think will somehow link to the previous story and then it does not happen.

[Dawn Shull · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great collection of short stories. Rather than given a resolution to the issue, you have to pause at the conclusion to figure out the plot. Definitely an interesting choice for a book club selection.

[Betty Bennett · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Touching stories of people who have experiences that I have been blessed to avoid. The last one was especially touching. Would be a great choice for a book club.