Woman, Running Late, In A Dress

Woodburn’s stories speak to the complexity in humanity and relationships, while her tightly-woven prose and flourishing visual details bring her characters and situations to life. This is a must-read for those seeking patient, impactful fiction that provides an excellent example of the intermingling of close characterization and tension brought about by change.”

Woodburn’s thirteen interconnected stories chart seismic emotional upheaval that grinds ominously from below and explodes onto the surface of people who might live down your street, or in your apartment building, or be you yourself. With a breathless pace, readers looking to be known on the page in their own trauma will see a reflection haunting and yet empathetic.”

The book closes with its title story, which feels something like a thesis for the collection, as a woman fixates on a meddlesome riddle to—whether intentionally or not—distract from her struggling marriage and the ultimate death of her husband. The cutaways to trying to figure out the riddle at hand masterfully splice between collage-style fragments and the ultimate reveal that the narrator should have been looking inward, rather than out, for the answer to the riddle; it’s a near-perfect bow on not only this particular piece, but a deeply felt, introspective mass of stories.”

Dallas Woodburn’s collection of interwoven stories shows real maturity about the complexities of relationships of all kinds, and she doesn’t shirk from the painful experiences of her characters. Even so, the writing is so lively and the scenes so engaging that the reader gets to move fluidly between heft and lightness. A terrific debut!”