Islands, Women,

and God

(stories)

2001

"With his second collection of stories, Paul

Ruffin makes another significant contribution to

Southern and American letters. In spare,

muscular prose seamless as a tendril of kudzu,

Ruffin probes, with haunting insight, the light,

darkness, and yearning of the human heart."

(Larry Thomas, author of Amazing Grace)

"Islands, Women, and God is an astonishing book. Every page is beautifully written, splendidly rendered and

bold. In a time when American writers seem to strive to either shock or soothe, Ruffin instead gives us an honest

vision of what lies beneath the veneer of manners and society. He is a master of language and a peerless teller of

tales, and he will surely be known as one of the best writers of his generation." (Houston Chronicle review by

Eric Miles Williamson, author of East Bay Grease.)

"Periodically a writer comes along

whose flashlight shines a little

brighter, probes a little deeper and

more discerningly into that cave

we call life, with the result that

now and then we get a glimpse of

something we never saw before.

Such an author is Paul Ruffin,

whose Islands, Women, and God

gives us that whiff of something

we find in unusual relationships.

Already a well-known writer of

short fiction, a poet, and a

novelist, Ruffin in this work turns

up the blower, as well as the

acuity." (Robert Winship, author

of The Brushlanders, Every Man

Also, and Flannery's Crossing)

Listed as one of the

Best Story Collections of 2001

in the Dictionary of Literary Biography

Yearbook, 2001.

"The author's background as a poet shines in his careful

selection of words and phrases, so this collection demands a

slower, more careful reading than might at first be apparent.

Made, it would seem, more for bedside table or as a travel-

ing companion, these stories should be absorbed, savored

and contemplated as individual pieces; only then can their

thematic and stylistic ties by fully appreciated." (Dallas

Morning News review by Clay Reynolds, novelist)

"Ruffin has a sharp eye for the things that matter in our lives and a pitch-

perfect ear for the way we talk to each other. He knows well that in the

tales we love most, laughter and tears are inextricably mixed." (George

Garrett, Dictionary of Literary Biography Yearbook, 2001)

ISBN: 0-9651359-8-5 (cloth)

0-9651359-9-3 (paper)