News: How To Breathe Underwater

“

Wondrous. . . . Not one of her stories leaves you unaffected; often, your heart aches from sustained and painful empathy. And yet you’re left exhilarated, too, by their sheer energetic artistry. . . . [Orringer] seems to remember childhood events as if it were last week. All her stories have unexpected settings and events, yet ring so true you practically feel you’re there somewhere yourself, sitting unobserved in the landscape observing your struggling fellow humans.

San Francisco Magazine on How to Breathe Underwater

“

Captivating…Orringer limns the ordinary, terrifying time between childhood and maturity so skillfully.

San Francisco Chronicle on How to Breathe Underwater

“

The world of the nine stories in this astonishing debut collection is one of beauty and longing….[These stories] are astounding in their ability to capture young people in all their simple agonies and joys.

The Anniston Star on How to Breathe Underwater

“

Pure gems, rollicking along with scintillating prose and surety. Just when you think they will stop — and lesser writers would stop — they keep going with inexorable momentum.

Ploughshares on How to Breathe Underwater

“

In How to Breathe Underwater, Julie Orringer delves into the complex lives of girls and young women, and with uncommon courage and exceptional clarity she shows us what she finds: passionate, often disturbing feelings of longing and jealousy and grief; an intense struggle to make sense of the unfathomable world of adults, and above all a determination to survive. These are tough, beautiful stories, piercing and true, and they mark the debut of an exceptionally gifted writer.

Ann Packer on How to Breathe Underwater

“

The harsh landscape in which Orringer’s characters dwell corresponds to the fierce beauty of her writing. Even the grimmest of these stories conveys, along with anguish, a child’s spark of mystery and wonder.

The New York Times  on How to Breathe Underwater

“

This is a wonderful set of stories, full of empathy and wisdom.

San Jose Mercury News on How to Breathe Underwater