Monstress: Stories

Author: Lysley Tenorio

Publisher: Ecco (2012)

A luminous collection of heartbreaking, vivid, startling, and gloriously unique stories set amongst the Filipino-American communities of California and the Philippines, Monstress heralds the arrival of a breathtaking new talent on the literary scene: Lysley Tenorio. Already the worthy recipient of a Pushcart Prize, a Whiting Writer’s Award, and a Stegner Fellowship, Tenorio brilliantly explores the need to find connections, the melancholy of isolation, and the sometimes suffocating ties of family in tales that range from a California army base to a steamy moviehouse in Manilla, to the dangerous false glitter of Hollywood.

“The debut of an electric literary talent. Brilliantly quirky, often moving, always gorgeously told….Bravo for this fabulous American fiction!”

–Chang-Rae Lee

“A wonderful story collection that’s as wide and rich and complex as the geography it spans.”

–Ben Fountain

“Tenorio is a deep and original writer, and Monstress is simply a beautiful book.”

–Jessica Hagedorn