The Hole in the Ocean
Reading like two measures of Lucia Berlin and one of Nikolai Gogol, The Hole in the Ocean is a stunning debut from a retired professor of Spanish. Kathleen March's brief and intimate stories keenly tease mundanity into existential, stark, and oftentimes hilarious buoyancy. A remarkably unique and profound collection.
PRAISE FOR THE HOLE IN THE OCEAN
Lonely yet conversational, Kathleen March's The Hole in the Ocean hums to an ancient, choral song. Art, food, travel, dreamed and remembered from home in Maine, are subtly keyed to an unapologetic interiority that in some stories bends toward a singular female surreal.
—Kirstin Allio, author of the novel Buddhism for Western Children
The Hole in the Ocean is utterly original and captivating: Kathleen March is the best of guides, inviting her reader into a vivid dream of stories—each brief, lavish voyage rich in color and texture and connected by delicate threads to the next, until you realize you've somehow traveled across shimmering reaches of time and space. She reminds me of Colette—indelible impressions made with the lightest and most daring hand. Pleasure, heartbreak, solitude—and solace—all are inseparable here: the best of companions in this writer's vision.
—Marjorie Sandor, author of The Secret Music at Tordesillas
Delicately weaving cultural identity with personal journey, The Hole in the Ocean dives deep to explore a landscape of the interior with keen sensitivity navigated through introspection.
—Aimee Parkison, author of Disappearing Debutantes, Surburban Death Project
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Originally from western NYS, Kathleen March has lived in Maine since 1984. Professor Emerita of Spanish from the University of Maine, she has traveled the long road from literary criticism to creative fiction with the help of translation. She now translates exclusively from the Galician language. Along the way, she has found art, especially printing, to be her favorite companion. Without thousands of miles of voyages, her stories would never have been written. She calls both shores of the Atlantic - Maine and Galicia - her home.
