Amy Hempel
Amy Hempel is an American short story author who was born on December 14th, 1951 in Chicago, Illinois to Gardiner and Gloria Hempel. Amy Hempel spent most of her early childhood in Chicago as well as Denver, Colorado before moving to San Francisco, California at the age of sixteen (Fields, 127). Hempel seems to be heavily influenced by her time spent in California because many of her stories take place within the state, however, she eventually settled in New York where she attended Columbia University. Hempel’s parents were both knowledgeable and well-read individuals. Gardiner Hempel, an executive in the field of information-handling systems, and Gloria Hempel, the director of an art museum both encouraged their daughter to read …show more content…
However, this was not the end of tragedy in Hempel’s life. She later received major injuries in multiple car accidents, and witnessed the death of a close friend who had leukemia (127). All of these unfortunate, life-altering events became inspirations for her short stories, which often focus on loss, grief, and how these experiences affect personal relationships. In the introductory notes to an interview with Hempel about her book, “Reasons to Live”, Michael Schumacher states, “if you have any intention of understanding the short fiction of Amy Hempel, pain is where you start” (29). It seems that Hempel has a way of using her personal tragedy as a starting point for her fiction, allowing the reader to fully feel the emotions he is trying to …show more content…
In a New York Times book review, Sheila Ballantyne explains that, “at its worst, minimalism is a kind of fraudulent tic that serves to hide a vacuum or defend against feeling. At its best it can, with economy and restraint, amplify perception and force meaning to leap from the page. In most of the stories that make up this first collection [Reasons to live], Amy Hempel has succeeded in revealing both the substance and intelligence beneath the surface of a spare, elliptical prose” (9). It appears that much like those who influenced her, Hempel has a talent for expressing a great deal of truth and emotion in a limited amount of space, and some have referred to her as a “miniaturist” do to the fact that a significant number of her stories are three pages or less, and in the case of the story, “Housewife,” one line. Even in longer stories the compressed aspect of her writing style, with limited action, and characters with short, cryptic lines, comes off as somewhat economical, and further helps to cement the notion of her “miniaturist”
Amy Hempel is an American short story author who was born on December 14th, 1951 in Chicago, Illinois to Gardiner and Gloria Hempel. Amy Hempel spent most of her early childhood in Chicago as well as Denver, Colorado before moving to San Francisco, California at the age of sixteen (Fields, 127). Hempel seems to be heavily influenced by her time spent in California because many of her stories take place within the state, however, she eventually settled in New York where she attended Columbia University. Hempel’s parents were both knowledgeable and well-read individuals. Gardiner Hempel, an executive in the field of information-handling systems, and Gloria Hempel, the director of an art museum both encouraged their daughter to read …show more content…
However, this was not the end of tragedy in Hempel’s life. She later received major injuries in multiple car accidents, and witnessed the death of a close friend who had leukemia (127). All of these unfortunate, life-altering events became inspirations for her short stories, which often focus on loss, grief, and how these experiences affect personal relationships. In the introductory notes to an interview with Hempel about her book, “Reasons to Live”, Michael Schumacher states, “if you have any intention of understanding the short fiction of Amy Hempel, pain is where you start” (29). It seems that Hempel has a way of using her personal tragedy as a starting point for her fiction, allowing the reader to fully feel the emotions he is trying to …show more content…
In a New York Times book review, Sheila Ballantyne explains that, “at its worst, minimalism is a kind of fraudulent tic that serves to hide a vacuum or defend against feeling. At its best it can, with economy and restraint, amplify perception and force meaning to leap from the page. In most of the stories that make up this first collection [Reasons to live], Amy Hempel has succeeded in revealing both the substance and intelligence beneath the surface of a spare, elliptical prose” (9). It appears that much like those who influenced her, Hempel has a talent for expressing a great deal of truth and emotion in a limited amount of space, and some have referred to her as a “miniaturist” do to the fact that a significant number of her stories are three pages or less, and in the case of the story, “Housewife,” one line. Even in longer stories the compressed aspect of her writing style, with limited action, and characters with short, cryptic lines, comes off as somewhat economical, and further helps to cement the notion of her “miniaturist”