Stories
by Shelly Oria
Enter the world of New York 1, Tel Aviv 0, where the characters are as intelligent and charming as they are lonely. A couple discovers the ability to stop time together; another couple lives with a constant loud beeping in their apartment, though only one of them can hear it. A father leaves his daughter in Israel to pursue a painting career in New York; a sex worker falls in love with the Israeli photographer who studies her.
Together these stories explore the tension between an anonymous, globalized world and an irrepressible lust for connectionthey form an intimate document of niche moments between characters who are so brilliantly, subtly, and magically rendered by Shelly Oria's capable hands.
"[An] overtly quirky style, but still feel meaningful and genuine." - Publishers Weekly
"An engaging first story collection from a promising young author who deserves a wide readership." - Library Journal
"Starred Review. Oria's fiction is tense and gripping; it's like the surprising and disconcerting sound that emerges from an instrument played by a traditionally trained musician who's chosen to explore new territory." " - Kirkus Reviews
"These are dazzling and daring stories from the extraordinary Shelly Oria, a writer I was thrilled to discover. Oria captures her characters at their most vulnerable, exposing their true natures in flashbulb bursts of surprising, exhilarating action. She's got style to burn, obsidian wit, and a deep feeling for the subterranean choreography between people's day-lit and shadow selves. In New York 1, Tel Aviv 0, Oria makes exquisite music out of the fragility of human relationships." - Karen Russell, author of Vampires in the Lemon Grove and Swamplandia!
"Whether in cooking classes or eye clinics or blood banks or fitting rooms, whether amidst time stoppages or amidst sounds that only one person can hear, Shelly Oria's characters are utterly original. New York 1, Tel Aviv 0 is wondrous, wise, a dazzling debut." - Joshua Henkin, author of The World Without You
This information about New York 1, Tel Aviv 0 was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Shelly Oria was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Israel. Her fiction has appeared in The Paris Review, McSweeney's, TriQuarterly, and Quarterly West, among other places, and has won a number of awards, including the Indiana Review Fiction Prize. She curates the series Sweet! Actors Reading Writers in the East Village and teaches fiction at Pratt Institute, where she also codirects the Writers' Forum.
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