In This Ravishing World

June 1, 2024

Schuyler (Afterword) won the W.S. Porter Prize for Short Story Collections and the Prism Prize for Climate Literature for her latest work, a collection of interconnected ecofiction short stories, woven together by the narration of nature personified. The events of each story are set off, whether directly or indirectly, by a letter from an environmentalist group to a woman named Eleanor. After 50 years of working to reduce the impact major that companies have on the environment, Eleanor is being recognized for her efforts, but her hopelessness at the current state of the world causes her to hesitate to accept the prestigious award. The stories' perspectives shift back and forth between Eleanor and her children, as well as others whose lives have been affected by Eleanor's actions, exploring both their despair and their hope over the future of the Earth. While Schuyler's collection raises interesting questions about humans' responsibility to nature and to each other, readers may find that the stories sometimes get stuck in the characters' internal monologues and are thus slow-moving. VERDICT A short story collection best for libraries where there are already enthusiastic ecofiction readers.--Jennifer Renken

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