Danielle Evans

The award-winning author of Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self brings her signature voice and insight to the subjects of race, grief, apology, and American history. Danielle Evans is widely acclaimed for her blisteringly smart voice and x-ray insights into complex human relationships. With The Office of Historical Corrections, Evans zooms in on particular moments and relationships in her characters' lives in a way that allows them to speak to larger issues of race, culture, and history. She introduces us to Black and multiracial characters who are experiencing the universal confusions of lust and love, and getting walloped by grief--all while exploring how history haunts us, personally and collectively. Ultimately, she provokes us to think about the truths of American history--about who gets to tell them, and the cost of setting the record straight. In "Boys Go to Jupiter," a white college student tries to reinvent herself after a photo of her in a Confederate-flag bikini goes viral. In "Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain," a photojournalist is forced to confront her own losses while attending an old friend's unexpectedly dramatic wedding. And in the eye-opening title novella, a black scholar from Washington, DC, is drawn into a complex historical mystery that spans generations and puts her job, her love life, and her oldest friendship at risk.

A Novella and Stories

The Office of Historical Corrections

Edna

I enjoyed all the stories in this book. And of course the titular story was the most impressionable. Unsettling ending, but I think that’s the point. Encapsulates current America perfectly. 

Harlee K

Riya

this was a haunting read which was so deftly and sharply written that all of things going on in the stories just settles in your bones. danielle examines and focuses on the issues that have been here since forever, but in a contemporary setting. i really love reading this.

Tracy K

There isn't a way to string together a few sentences that could possibly encompass what this collection of stories does to you... A book that you just simply have to read to know.

Chloe Garcia

4.5 stars. This was my first delve into short stories and what a way to start.

Deyana

There is so much depth and complexity stored within each of these short stories, that after you finish reading one, it feels like you get to let out a breath you hadn't realized you had been holding.

Chiyeung lau

An absolutely amazing collection of stories. The title novella blew me away.

Jordan /

WINNER OF THE 2021 JOYCE CAROL OATES PRIZE NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2020 BY O MAGAZINE, THE NEW YORKER, THE WASHINGTON POST, REAL SIMPLE, THE GUARDIAN, AND MORE FINALIST FOR: THE STORY PRIZE, THE L.A. TIMES BOOK PRIZE, THE ASPEN WORDS LITERARY PRIZE, THE CHAUTAUQUA PRIZE “Sublime short stories of race, grief, and belonging . . . an extraordinary new collection . . .” —The New Yorker “Evans’s new stories present rich plots reflecting on race relations, grief, and love . . .” —The New York Times Book Review, Editor’s Choice “Danielle Evans demonstrates, once again, that she is the finest short story writer working today.” —Roxane Gay, The New York Times–bestselling author of Difficult Women and Bad Feminist The award-winning author of Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self brings her signature voice and insight to the subjects of race, grief, apology, and American history. Danielle Evans is widely acclaimed for her blisteringly smart voice and X-ray insights into complex human relationships. With The Office of Historical Corrections, Evans zooms in on particular moments and relationships in her characters’ lives in a way that allows them to speak to larger issues of race, culture, and history. She introduces us to Black and multiracial characters who are experiencing the universal confusions of lust and love, and getting walloped by grief—all while exploring how history haunts us, personally and collectively. Ultimately, she provokes us to think about the truths of American history—about who gets to tell them, and the cost of setting the record straight. In “Boys Go to Jupiter,” a white college student tries to reinvent herself after a photo of her in a Confederate-flag bikini goes viral. In “Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain,” a photojournalist is forced to confront her own losses while attending an old friend’s unexpectedly dramatic wedding. And in the eye-opening title novella, a black scholar from Washington, DC, is drawn into a complex historical mystery that spans generations and puts her job, her love life, and her oldest friendship at risk.

Fraser Simons

A rare perfect execution of a collection of short stories. Thematically vivid, every POV further explores to great effect. Clinical prose. Unapologetic and absolutely biting in the clarity of which it realizes systemic archetypes in society.

Mia Kern

Wow. An incredible collection of short stories, each better than the last. From what I could personally relate to, Evans really nailed what it's like to navigate the world as a female, as a minority, and as a human in general. Definitely a book that helped me view even the little things in a different light and one that I will certainly reread in the future.

Cindy Lieberman

Smooth and sharp writing that brings the reader into the lives and minds of the characters. We see subtle and overt racism, for example, as it is received and processed by people of color. The stories are interesting and thought provoking.

Summer Stanley

Dark and tough to read. Powerful writing and challenging topics. This one takes time and openness. 

In this collection of short stories and a novella, Danielle Evans tells the stories of love, sorrow, and apologies - all surrounding race and history. The stories are full of questions and visceral emotions, but Evans writing is unflinching and almost matter of fact. Combined with impeccable pacing, it kept me turning page after page. Even though I’ve spent a week trying to wrap my head around it, I’m still not sure how I feel about the stories. There is humor and joy and love, but there is also a lot of devastation and anger. I got so upset after finishing the entire collection, and had to drag myself through an overwhelming bog of emotions. Some stories that stayed with me were Alcatraz, Why Won’t Women Say What They Want, and the titular novella The Office of Historical Corrections.

Caitlin Snyder

Danielle Evans is an amazing writer. Read this!

Marlee Stark

Lived up to the hype in every way. Add to the top of your to read stack!

Sahi K

Probably more of a 3.5 but I am rounding up.

This is a very well written collection of stories which felt very engrossing and full of depth, but ultimately left me feeling dissatisfied because many of them didn’t give me the kind of closure I expected. I understand they are short stories but most of them felt like beginnings, and I would enjoy more if they were all longer. However, it’s still an interesting anthology and I would also recommend the audiobook for its wonderful cast of narrators.

Jennifer Dieter

This is one of the few short story collections that starts with it's weakest story. But you aren't thinking about it at the end, because the novella is THAT good.

Laura

This book is mind-blowing. Each of these stories brings you into a fascinating narrative. I couldn't binge read these stories, each story required taking time to process and think through. I'm so appreciative of the ways in which these brilliant stories made me think and analyze the world around me.

Salam Kabbani

In The Office of Historical Corrections, Danielle Evans provides us with literature so rich in the most hauntingly beautiful way. 

There was an array of topics that explored race, family, personal trauma, the bonds that make us, and so much more. They were incredibly written and managed to individually pull the reader in within a few sentences. 

The novella at the end was enthralling to say the least. While I cannot say much without revealing details, the ending was an evocative surprise that I would could have never imagined going into the short novella. 

This collection of literature leaves the reader pondering and searching for the deeper meaning every step of the way. 

I encourage you all to read this book and hope to see it dispersed in our education system throughout the nation.

Cindy

Damn.

This is really good.

Evans is a master of the short story form. The premises are unexpected (a white woman who faces backlash after posing in a Confederate flag bikini, a woman who assumes care for a baby boy when he is abandoned on an eastbound bus, a male artist who makes an apology museum for all the women he wronged, a professor who works a government job to correct mistakes in the public record -- hence the title of the collection), but Evans manages to upend you even further with sly turns and multiple backstories and histories woven in such an empathetic way that you'd never see any of them coming.

"Boys Go to Jupiter" (the story about the woman in the Confederate bikini) was a wry telling of cancelation culture in the eyes of an unlikable protagonist. I entered the story with nothing but scorn for the main character Claire, a callous college student who poses in the bikini just to piss off her stepmother. As Claire deals with the consequences of her actions, Evans weaves in Claire's trauma from an incident with her ex and her unaddressed grief from her mother's death. She's so deft at threading in past incidents in a way that lend more clarity and perspective, but never as a method of pity or a call to sympathize. By learning more about Claire's past, I'm able to see that Claire's callousness doesn't exist in a vacuum, but rather, a nuanced extension of her grief and rage. I still don't excuse Claire's actions nor do I sympathize with her, and I'm glad that Evans doesn't bother to convince us to like Claire, but rather to cast a critical eye.

My favorite might have been the titular story: "The Office of Historical Corrections". The main character Cassie contends with a complex friendship that had largely centered on being the only two black girls in the room, failed and failing relationships, and solving a mystery involving a black man who was murdered in a sundown town decades ago. Cassie's backstory, especially that of her friendship with Genie, sows the seeds for the plot and captures so profoundly the dynamics that often come with growing up and being the only two POC women in the room:

  It was too late for the era when prestigious institutions would acquire one minority and stop, but too soon for there to be enough of us that we had the option of avoiding taking a position on each other. We grew up circling each other, each aware of the ways the other highlighted our deficiencies.


It was true, I admit—away from Genie, I had the peculiar confidence of only children, the boldness that came from being doted on but alone often enough to be oblivious to my own strangeness. In Genie’s presence, I felt revealed by the only nearby witness to my life as a whole.


(view spoiler)[I loved the unfolding of the mystery of Josiah Wynslow; even the buildup to that mystery was a total surprise. But what really had me yelling was the ending. I suspected it would happen or trend in that direction, but goddamn.

The one other thing to note about Evans' writing is that she likes to leave her stories on a cliffhanger. In most cases, this worked, as the point wasn't necessarily to resolve the plot or neatly tie up loose plot ends, but at times, my satisfaction would have been sated had Evans revealed just a little bit more. But maybe that's just a testament to how she expertly chooses her words and how she leaves things just open-ended enough to get you thinking, even after you've turned the last page. (hide spoiler)]

Tori Carrillo

Holy sh**. This entire book was incredible. These stories were so powerful and thought provoking. I’ve never seen or heard truth written or spoken so clearly and especially through fiction. I have been and will continue to recommend this book to EVERYONE. Wow.

Sarine Bez

This was good, but I don’t think I’m a short story person. I craved that connection with characters that you get out of novels and didn’t enjoy the abrupt endings to the stories. I think this is mostly a personal preference problem, because the writing was excellent and so many important issues were addressed in such an original way. 

Order of preference: 
Alcatraz > Anything Could Disappear > Office of Historical Corrections > Why Won’t Women Just Say What They Want > Boys Go to Jupiter > Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain > Happily Ever After

Devin Mainville

The stories within are compelling works of entertainment as well as layered, thought provoking narratives on race and gender. Despite the effortless writing and east digestibility of the short story format, this is a heavy read, but one that is increasingly vital.

“Why Won’t Woman Just Say What They Want” is my favorite piece of commentary to come out of the Me-Too Era.

Chelsea White

** spoiler alert **
           I haven’t ever read a collection of short stories before, so at first it was a little difficult to jump from one to another. But each story is so good and whole on its own, that I quickly forgot that I hadn’t read this format before. The stand out is obviously the novella “The Office of Historical Corrections”, but the short story “Alcatraz” has stuck with me since reading it in a way the other stories didn’t. The story “Why Won’t Women Just Say What They Want” is incredibly timely, and not going to lie... I cheered when The Girl Who Had Wondered All These Years What to Call It pushed the Artist in.
A benefit of short stories was that I could read them as it flowed for me, which was a lovely thing to discover!

Emily Christensen

Divided into six short stories and a novella, author Danielle Evans explores various topics, most notably racism and grief in beautiful and heartbreaking ways. 

Right away you can tell Evans is an absolutely incredible writer and storyteller!! Her talent transcends all expectations I had of a short story; in as short as 30 pages she can fully develop characters and take you on an entire journey that will start from zero and rip your heart out by the end. 

As someone who generally goes into a book blind the thing I’ve realized I enjoy most about the short stories is that each one you enter truly blind and those lack of expectations are what catch you off guard and allow you to fully immerse into the writing and story. 

Throughout this entire reading journey, I felt like Evans not only saw me, through her exploration of loss and grief, but she taught me, through her focus on micro-aggressions and racism.

Notable quote: “white people love their history right up until it’s true”

I would highly, highly recommend picking up this collection! This book is not only an important read but one that everyone will find something to love (and cringe about 🥴) within the book.

The Office of Historical Corrections A Novella and Stories

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