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    If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This: Fiction
    Unavailable
    If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This: Fiction
    Unavailable
    If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This: Fiction
    Ebook309 pages5 hours

    If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This: Fiction

    By Robin Black

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    FINALIST FOR THE FRANK O’CONNOR SHORT STORY AWARD

    NOW WITH AN ADDITIONAL STORY.

    Heralding the arrival of a stunning new voice in American fiction, If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This takes readers into the minds and hearts of people navigating the unsettling transitions that life presents to us all: A father struggles to forge an independent identity as his blind daughter prepares for college. A mother comes to terms with her adult daughter’s infidelity. An artist mourns the end of a romance while painting the portrait of a dying man. Brilliant, hopeful, and fearlessly honest, If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This illuminates the truths of human relationships, truths we come to recognize in these characters and in ourselves. 

    BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Robin Black's Life Drawing.

    Look for the If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This discussion guide inside.

    Praise for If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This

    “I want to shout about how just when you thought no one could write a story with any tinge of freshness let alone originality about childhood. . . about marriage . . . about old age, Black has done it. . . . Black delivers real emotion, the kind that gives you pause. . . . Will Robin Black win [the Pen/Hemingway Prize] for this book? If I were a judge, she would.”—Alan Cheuse, Chicago Tribune 

    “Pitch-perfect . . . so deft, so understated, and so compelling that you have to slow down to savor each vignette. . . . Fans of Mary Gaitskill, Amy Bloom, and Miranda July will feel like they’ve found gold in a river when they discover Robin Black. . . . [A] writer to watch.”—O: The Oprah Magazine

    “Each story reads like a mini-novel . . . worlds are contained in a single page. And the writing . . . oh, the writing . . . There’s no narrative cohesion, no point.  Rather, If I Loved You is a ‘Fantastic Voyage’ into the bloodstream of the human species. . . . Maybe it’s midlife maturity, maybe it’s raw talent, but If I Loved You leaves you longing for more."—San Francisco Chronicle

    “Incisive . . . peopled with characters so fully imagined you’ll feel they’re in the room.”—People

    "Exquisitely distilled tales of loss and reckoning . . . [Black] evokes a Sparkian blend of skepticism and grace."—Vogue
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRandom House Publishing Group
    Release dateMar 30, 2010
    ISBN9780679603689
    Unavailable
    If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This: Fiction
    Author

    Robin Black

    Robin Black is the author of the critically acclaimed short story collection If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This, a finalist for the Frank O'Connor Short Story Prize and the novel Life Drawing. Her stories and essays have appeared in numerous publications, including O, The Oprah Magazine and the New York Times Magazine. A recipient of fellowships from the Leeway Foundation and the MacDowell Colony, Black was the 2012 Distinguished Visiting Writer at Bryn Mawr College and has taught most recently in the Brooklyn College MFA Program. She lives with her family in Philadelphia. robinblack.net @Robin_Black

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    Reviews for If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This

    4/5

    52 ratings3 reviews

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    • 4/5
      My interest in early Christian philosophy prompted me to read this book which deals with the freedom of choice and will. By rejecting elements of pure determinism and early forms of Calvinistic pre-destination, Augustine makes the bold claim that choice is free and evil the result of bad choices made by the individual. Therefore, we are responsible for our actions and not locked into one course.
    • 3/5
      The version I read of this was missing portions of Austine's writtings as it was part of my text book - so I feel I am cheating by posting that I read this. But regardless of scholastic edits, a truly timeless piece that attempts to answer the centuries old question of why does God let evil things happen/exist?
    • 4/5
      Since it can be agreed upon by most that God is the Creator of all things, where do the circumstances of evil committed by His creation fall into His ultimate plan? Augustine’s argument with Evodius in regard to the use of man’s free-will for evil purposes attempts to display that every good thing has in fact been given by God; free-will included. Augustine’s primary thesis is that all good things come from one Creator (XVII). The purpose is to take the reader through a series of arguments between Augustine and Evodius as they discuss whether free-will is [1] good and [2] if used for evil is from God. Augustine “was a classically trained rhetorician who used his skill to eloquently proclaim at length the superiority of Christian culture over Greco-Roman culture, and he also served as one of the central figures by whom the latter was transformed and transmitted to the former.” Augustine’s views became somewhat of a paradox. This can be clearly attributed to the conflicting notions and beliefs from a plethora of philosophies including Hellenists, Epicureans, Stoics, Skeptics, and Neo-Platonists. Add to this assortment the varying degrees of orthodoxy within Christianity and unorthodox Gnostic sects of Manicheans, and you have an Abundance of beliefs which reveal themselves through his writings. There is little doubt that Augustine used the methodologies from his previous experiences to influence this work. It is certain, though, that his foundational manuscript for this writing was Scripture itself. In summary, Evodius, a “vigorous interlocutor and lively objector” (ix), asks a series of questions establishing dialogue between Augustine and himself. These questions take the reader on a search to discern mankind’s role in regard to the will. In comparison with other works on the subject of free-will (i.e. Luther’s Bondage of the Will, Erasmus’, Diatribe Concerning Free Will, Calvin’s, Institutes, etc.), the primary focus and foundational work should be on that of Scripture. Though not all the claims of Augustine are clearly congruent with God’s Word, the majority are. For the purposes of my own knowledge and research, Augustine’s work has proven invaluable. He clearly examined and explained his findings regarding the initial thesis. Though some material presented itself as redundant, the journey to seek the truth found its destination.