Reasons for and Advantages of Breathing

Written by Lydia Peelle

Narrated by Tom Stechschulte, Scott Sowers, Thérèse Plummer and Suzanne Toren

The compelling short stories of Lydia Peelle have earned her two Pushcart Prizes, an O. Henry Award, and publication in Best New American Voices. This debut collection brings together eight superbly crafted stories that peer deeply into the human heart, exploring lives derailed by the loss of a vital connection to the land and to the natural world of which they are a part.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781461804130

Lydia Peelle

Lydia Peelle is the author of the novel The Midnight Cool and the story collection Reasons For and Advantages of Breathing, which received an honorable mention for the PEN/Hemingway Award. She received her MFA from the University of Virginia and has been a fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Ucross, Yaddo, and Ragdale. Peelle is a recipient of two Pushcart Prizes, an O. Henry Prize, the National Book Foundation's "5 Under 35" honor, and a Whiting Award, as well as the Anahid Award for Emerging Armenian-American writers. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee. 

Reviews for Reasons for and Advantages of Breathing

[lukes_171461 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm going against my policy here, and reviewing a book which I did not finish. The short stories in this collection share a good many qualities, for better and for worse. They all show that Ms. Peelle can draw a scene and a character with high skill. Her language is economical and slanted at just the right pitch. This group displays the author's skills in this area.However, her theme of extreme existential angst runs through all the stories, too. The author gives each hero (of the pieces I read) a tiny ultimate glimpse of escape, but that was quite uniform through all the stories, too. When I started the eponymous piece, and the hero was another just waiting for his life, or the world, or both, to end cataclysmically, while he is all alone and miserable, I gave up. It was too much of the same thing, over which I didn't need to dawdle.

[billpilgrim_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Short stories. These are all sad, human stories. There is ultimately no happiness in their lives, at least while we see them. As the character in the title story thinks: “When my husband left, he told me he hadn't been happy in years. Happy? I thought. We're supposed to be happy? I was under the impression that no one was truly happy, given the raw materials we have to work with in this life.” That is the mood of all of the people that inhabit these stories. But, I am a pessimist myself, so I enjoyed reading these. They make quick reading; you could do it in a long afternoon, on a rainy, depressing day would be best. Here are descriptions of the stories:“Mule Killers” – Three generations: grandfather, father, and the son who is the narrator. His grandfather bought tractors years ago and that was the end for the farm's mules, as it also was throughout the County, State, etc. Father loves one girl but gets another pregnant. Touching story. “Phantom Pain” – Jack is a taxidermist. He is a diabetic, who recently had his foot amputated. Jeanne is his ex-wife, but is still in his life. The people in his town believe that a cougar or a panther or a mountain lion is roaming the local woods. But, Jack knows better.“Sweethearts of the Rodeo” – Two girls spending the summer on a ranch. They see the local women come and go, to spend time with the caretaker. They have to work, but they look forward to spending time going off, riding two ponies that belong to no one.“The Still Point” – A traveling carnival. A man travels with it and tries to sell junk, basically. He sleeps with a married woman, while her husband tends to their booth. He finds a necklace with a heart shaped locket that belongs to a teenage girl who wins the beauty pageant; inside is a picture of a baby.“Reasons for and Advantages of Breathing” – A woman is separated from her husband, but he still visits. He is sleeping around though and spending money on himself. She meets an elderly University herpetologist on the bus and visits him and his animals. She thinks she loves him, but he knows she does not.“This Is Not a Love Story” – A mother tells her college age daughter about when she was young and lived with a man on his houseboat. He was a drunk. But, they did have some good times, lots of parties anyway. She thought about being a photographer, but was no good at it. Her man was better.“Kidding Season” – A teenage boy decides to travel to the gulf coast after Katrina looking for work, and ends up on a goat farm for a while, working for a solitary older woman. He nurses a weak goat kid who is rejected by its mother. “Shadow on a Weary Land” – Three men looking for treasure buried by Frank James. The James brothers used to live there. The land is now being sold to developers.