All Around Atlantis

All Around Atlantis represents Deborah Eisenberg's third story collection and stands as a powerful showcase of her distinctive voice in contemporary short fiction. This first edition gathers seven painstakingly crafted stories that explore the interior lives of characters grappling with displacement, loss, and the peculiar compromises demanded by everyday reality.

Eisenberg has been compared to Alice Munro for her virtuosic mastery of the short story form, and these tales demonstrate why critics consider her one of the most important fiction writers of her generation. The collection features standout pieces including "The Girl Who Left Her Sock on the Floor," which traces a boarding school student's sudden initiation into mortality when her mother dies, and "Someone to Talk To," set in Mexico, where a concert pianist experiences a rude political awakening. The title story presents an unforgettable "imaginary conversation" between a middle-aged woman and the charismatic mentor who shaped—and perhaps ruined—her life.

Published in 1997, this collection appeared the same year as The Stories (So Far) of Deborah Eisenberg, which compiled her earlier work. All Around Atlantis was a National Book Award finalist and cemented Eisenberg's position as a master of psychological realism. Her prose has been praised for approaching "the beauty of a line of poetry" while maintaining razor-sharp insights into human behavior.