Brides in the Sky

"In unsentimental but intimate detail, a collection of stories peels back stereotypes about the lives of women in the past.…In spare but evocative prose, Holladay skillfully and subtly re-creates those earlier times while making clear their parallels to the present.…Women and girls often overlooked by history are given compelling voices in this collection." (Kirkus Reviews) "I devoured (Brides in the Sky) and only wished it were longer. Discovering Cary Holladay is the best thing that happened to me during my many months of reading for this chronicle. Her stories take you in with vivid characters, compelling plots, humor and insight." (Hudson Review) "…[Imagines] the lives of women who participated, unnamed, in so much of American history.…Backed by a beautiful sense of place." (Garden & Gun) "Brides in the Sky contributes beautifully to [Holladay's] body of work, its stories brimming with vibrant life, nuanced characters, and plots fueled by surprising turns.…Brides in the Sky also delivers when it comes to sheer entertainment." (Chapter 16) "[The title story] does that great thing that [Alice Munro's work] does where it travels these great distances of geography and time, and you never feel like you're missing anything.…The amount of emotion that Cary Holladay is able to put in three sentences, it just feels like someone is punching you right in the heart." (on All Sides Weekend) "One after another, the pieces collected here startle and illuminate. From the Sundance Kid's sweetheart to a child-snatching sorority sister to a heroic telephone operator and more, Brides in the Sky exposes the limitations of our assumptions, while deftly reinventing story form. Each narrative here proves an astonishment, a marvel." "Every tale in this superb collection, from its shortest stories to its novella, is a world unto itself. Each bursts with distinctive life, and yet all feel eerily connected. Holladay moves with such ease in and out of time, in and out of such a diversity of hearts, that you feel you're under the spell of a guide who knows the secrets of all the old houses on the street. She can show you every room—and the exquisite ghosts therein. Her tour is brilliantly imagined, deeply felt, and beautifully told." "Brides in the Sky is a masterful sweep of time and imagination, and an exceptional display of voice and character. These stories span centuries, livelihoods, and the great dimension of Holladay's impressive creativity and heart. Each story works to pull you into its 'embrace as warm as a rug.' And while you're snuggled there, you look up to the Milky Way's 'great folds and curtains and cobwebs of stars.' Brides in the Sky sparkles like these stars."