Jolene McIlwain, "Sidle Creek" (Melville House, 2023)

New Books in Literature · May 13, 2023 · 47m

In her debut short story collection, Sidle Creek (Melville House, 2023), Jolene McIlwain skillfully interrogates the myths and stereotypes of the mining, mill, and farming towns where she grew up. With stories that take place in diners and dive bars, town halls and bait shops, McIlwain’s writing explores themes of class, work, health, and trauma, and the unexpected human connections of small, close-knit communities. All the while, the wild beauty of the natural world weaves its way in, a source of the town’s livelihood – and vulnerable to natural resource exploitation. With an alchemic blend…