The works in Hindsight are both contemporary and historical and feature a remarkably wide-ranging collection of protagonists motivated by startling and compelling dilemmas. An aged Irishwoman is pathologically obsessed with faerie folk; a small-time thief seeks redemption for a past betrayal; a college professor confronts aging with secret nighttime journeys; a British infantry sergeant in WWI seeks the magic that has kept his platoon from harm. In these utterly unique stories, Corwin delivers the most unexpected plot turns with the calm assurance of a master storyteller.

Joan Corwin is a storyteller of extraordinary wisdom and empathy, devoted to rendering fully the lives of these remarkable characters?their complexities and frailties, their small kindnesses and terrible mistakes, and most of all, their resilience in the face of trauma, war, or even just the vagaries of aging. Fierce, elegant, and unflinching, the seven stories in Hindsight are a testament to the long reach of family and history, and the salvific power of love. What a joy it's been to read a debut book of such beauty and reach.