May 2024

Goodnight, Beautiful Women by Anna Noyes is endlessly more than a short story collection. It’s a fascinating exploration into the complex desires, betrayals and relationship dynamics of women in coastal New England. Uncomfortably relatable at times with a haunting truthfulness that sticks with you, these stories are fiercely observant, raw and exquisitely written, yet easily digestible. Noyes digs inside our shadow selves through heartrending circumstances spanning suicide, rape, abandonment, abuse, mental illness, dependency and beyond—succeeding at illuminating the beauty and resilience residing in even the deepest wounds. A devourable read and literary gem that, for students of human nature, is impossible to put down.