Light Can Be Both Wave and Particle

By Ellen Gilchrist

From National Book Award Winner Ellen Gilchrist, a pillar of Southern literature hailed by the Washington Post as “a national treasure,” comes a colorful collection of short stories integrating favorite characters with captivating newcomers.

“This fourth collection of 11 stories is a validation of the author’s skill and versatility. Gilchrist creates new experiences for characters from earlier stories and … creates new characters who reveal her skill in portraying character and place.” –Library Journal

Rhoda’s reveling in her childhood and infinite possibility in “The Tree Fort” and “The Time Capsule” is juxtaposed with her darker adulthood in “Mexico.” Nora Jane returns alongside Lin Tan Sing, a Chinese medical student and geneticist who predicts the birth of her twins in a later story.

Fans of Gilchrist won’t want to miss the author’s exploration of the many stages of life and the lightness and darkness each can bring.

“Several stories in Gilchrist’s latest collection are distinguished by her old magic—they have energy and gusto and humor, and a dark layer of knowledge beneath their tone” –Publishers Weekly

• Language: English
• Publisher: Diversion Books
• Release date: Dec 18, 2018
• ISBN: 9781635763454

Ellen Gilchrist

Ellen Gilchrist (1935-2024) was author of several collections of short stories and novellas including The Cabal and Other Stories, Flights of Angels, The Age of Miracles, The Courts of Love, In the Land of Dreamy Dreams, Victory Over Japan (winner of the National Book Award), Drunk With Love, and I Cannot Get You Close Enough. She also wrote several novels, including The Anna Papers, Net of Jewels, Starcarbon, and Sarah Conley.

Reviews for Light Can Be Both Wave and Particle

[bookczuk · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I normally am not a big fan of the art of short stories, but this little book of Ellen Gilchrist's makes me eat my words. Perhaps it was the interrelated aspect of many of the stories that settled my brain. Normally, it's the abrupt hop from one scenario to another that jars me. This formed a fragmented storyline of a short, introducing me to full fleshed characters and delicious prose. I'd be hard-pressed to pick a favorite, as the flow has gone to almost seamless in my mind, despite a foray of the stories to Mexico. Some of the early stories beautifully called to mind the United States in the middle section of the last century. That's my stomping ground, too, so I was right at home.