Explanation for Chaos

: A mother's imminent death bizarrely reorders a family's dynamics...A cruel prank perpetrated by two little girls on a classmate alters their three lives in unexpected ways...A daughter struggles to explain a troubled relationship with her father, an obsessive scientist whom she simultaneously resents and adores...These are three of the nine remarkable stories by acclaimed author Julie Schumacher that appear in this marvelous new collection. Here is short fiction that offers poignant and unforgettable views of the disordered, unpredictable world of parents and children, sisters and brothers. There are two O'Henry Award-winners in AN EXPLANATION FOR CHAOS, one of which was included in Best American Short Stories. From out of the painful cacophonies of youth and family emerge cries of despair and declaration of hope--angry defiance and harsh, piercing laughter--in a startling and intensely beautiful exploration of the chaos that is life from one of the most original and exciting voices in contemporary American literature.