Women! In! Peril! Stories

As a sex robot, Annie's only desire is to fulfill her purpose--and avoid the return policy. But first she must parse through the tensions of the family who bought her, especially the son, Edward, who makes her call him War and sit in his closet. And so begins author Marshall's traverse in this genre-bending set of twelve stories, each ridiculous but wickedly sharp in their own right. There's "My Immaculate Girlfriend," about a woman whose girlfriend is pregnant and deems the baby a miracle from God (and most definitely not from infidelity). In another tale, a college student grapples with control over her own body through dance and sex, haunted by the phrase: "The body never lies." Not surprisingly, Women! In! Peril! reflects on the ever-evolving complexities of being a woman, especially when intertwined with LGBTQ and Asian American experiences. This unflinching lens gives power to this collection, with Marshall's delightful sense of humor sparkling throughout. An amusing but poignant collection for those who enjoy strange women in even stranger circumstances.

Asian American girls and women grapple with loneliness, desire, and the dissolution of their relationships in Marshall's bold debut collection. A lesbian relationship is rocked in "My Immaculate Girlfriend" when Melody becomes pregnant with what she claims is a "miracle baby," then is offered the role of the Virgin Mary in a Nativity play. In "Late Girl," one of many stories exploring the body's relationship to desire, memory, and trauma, college student Chelsea suffers from amnesia after falling and hitting her head. She enrolls in a modern dance class, kindling an obsession with her instructor, Amy, that brings back memories of the night of the accident. In the apocalyptic title story, one of the female passengers aboard the spaceship The America recalls the death and devastation she left behind in a now-uninhabitable Earth and wonders about her future on the mysterious Planet B, where the ship is destined. Stocking these stories with an eclectic cast ranging from robots to divorcées and sideshow performers, Marshall explores with humor and tenderness the complex emotional interiors of characters who find themselves at a crossroads. This heralds the arrival of an arresting new voice. Agent: Michelle Brower and Natalie Edwards, Trellis Literary. (Apr.)