Read Little Labors Storyline:
Rivka Galchen's Little Labors is a droll and dazzling compendium of observations, stories, lists, and brief essays about babies and literatureSei Shonagon's Pillow Book—a key inspiration for Rivka Galchen's new book—contains a list of "Things That Make One Nervous." And wouldn't the blessed event top almost anyone's list?Little Labors is a slanted, enchanted literary miscellany. Varying in length from just a sentence or paragraph to a several-page story or essay, Galchen's puzzle pieces assemble into a shining, unpredictable, mordant picture of the ordinary-extraordinary nature of babies and literature. Anecdotal or analytic, each part opens up an odd and tender world of wonder. The 47 Ronin; the black magic of maternal love; babies morphing from pumas to chickens; the quasi-repellent concept of "women writers"; origami-ophilia in Oklahoma as a gateway drug to a lifelong obsession with Japan; discussions of favorite passages from the...Pages of Little Labors :
