WILMINGTON — Vermont author and Commons columnist Elayne Clift will read from her latest book, Children of the Chalet: New and Selected Stories, Grand Prize Winner for Fiction in the Greyden Press 2014 Book Competition, on Wednesday, Aug. 5, at 6 p.m., at Bartleby's Books, 17 West Main St.
Clift's collection has two parts.
The first, “Children of the Chalet,” from which the title is drawn, is a set of connected stories based on a year Clift spent in the 1960s as a residential counselor in a halfway house for troubled teens.
“I had ruminated for years about the girls I worked with and what brought them to residential living and care,” Clift says. “Their stories, which I've fictionalized, were compelling and I often wondered what had become of them as adults. Those two questions - why were they in the 'chalet' and what became of them - inspired the work.”
The second part includes a number of short stories.
As one reviewer noted, “Each story in this collection is unique and well-written; learning about the characters keeps the reader up at night wondering where on Earth they will go next. Readers will find themselves relating, sympathizing, and learning more about the human condition. The stories stretch the reader's mind and heartstrings.”
Among Clift's other books are two prior short story collections, two poetry collections, a memoir, and the 2014 novel Hester's Daughters, based on The Scarlet Letter.