A Clear View of the Southern Sky

"In A Clear View of the Southern Sky. . . every sentence is so delicately polished, so deliberately paced, the result is a treasury of 10 small masterpieces."—Teresa Weaver, Atlanta magazine

"You do not want to miss this collection of Mary Hood's stories, A Clear View of the Southern Sky. Her prose demonstrates moral sense, compassion, narrative efficiency, and depth of vision—all rolled together—placing her squarely among America's best writers."—Clyde Edgerton, author of Pappadaddy's Book for New Fathers and Walking Across Egypt

"Reading a Mary Hood story is like listening deeply as someone talks their way through the dark toward the light of some essential truth about their life. Her voice is unmistakable and her steadfast empathy and honesty are gifts to everyone who reads her remarkable stories."—Pam Durban, author of The Tree of Forgetfulness: A Novel

"These stories teem with women whose integrity asserts itself ecclesiastically in a world that grants shallow women a tactical advantage. Hood's women know how to hang their high heels on gun racks, sew camouflage covers for M1-Abrams tanks, and bury someone else's dog. They are invisible adepts among us; one sacrifices herself to wipe the smile off a serial killer's face. Hood's trademark is her incandescent bearing witness to what is hidden in plain sight. She is a stubborn negotiator on behalf of our human tribe."—Cynthia Shearer, author of The Wonder Book of Air and The Celestial Jukebox

"Mary Hood's edgy prose and her insights into the complexity of being human startles us, creating suspense about which path a character might choose.In these nine stories and one novella Hood focuses on the lives of women —the choices available as well as the choices closed to them. At times we see a woman block her own opportunities, or find a different path; but Hood's women are always unmasked — becoming vulnerable, identifiable, and compelling. You pull for them; you want them to find sovereignty."—Elizabeth Cox, author of Night Talk, The Slow Moon, and The Ragged Way People Fall Out of Love

"A Clear View of the Southern Sky is a transcendent work of art and an intense reminder of what a great writer can achieve. Mary Hood is an American treasure, and this new book solidifies her place among the very best of our time. Her voice is essential and necessary, and without it we would all be so much the poorer. I am more grateful for this book—and for Mary Hood—than I can say."—Philip Lee Williams, author of The Flower Seeker: An Epic Poem of William Bartram

"The word that first came to mind when I finished this book was fierce: these stories are fiercely original, fiercely intelligent, fiercely honest. ——They are also carefully researched and carefully wrought, as if they have been distilled. Each one of them contains a novel. Mary Hood could be the spiritual love child of Flannery O'Connor and Barry Hannah, or maybe she's simply Mary Hood, not only one of the most unique Southern writers ever, but a true American treasure."—Lee Smith, author of New York Times best seller The Last Girls