The Shell Collector: Stories

Anthony Doerr

Feb 2002 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

The “perilously beautiful” (The Boston Globe) first story collection by Pulitzer Prize–winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author Anthony Doerr, acclaimed writer of All the Light We Cannot See and Cloud Cuckoo Land.

The exquisitely crafted stories in Anthony Doerr’s debut collection, The Shell Collector, takes readers from the African Coast to the pine forests of Montana to the damp moors of Lapland, charting a vast physical and emotional landscape. Doerr explores the human condition in all its varieties—metamorphosis, grief, fractured relationships, and slowly mending hearts—conjuring nature in both its beautiful abundance and crushing power. Some of the characters in these stories contend with hardships; some discover unique gifts; all are united by their ultimate deference to the ravishing universe outside themselves.

A stunning and unforgettable debut, The Shell Collector established Doerr as a master of literary short fiction, making it a must-read for fans of Best American Short Stories, environmentally rich fiction, and character-driven storytelling.

Ratings and reviews

I think this is one of the worst books I've ever read. I'm sorry but it was such a huge disappointment. The ebook review wasn't up to a par description of what the stories actually were about. It was very misleading.

Elegant prose

Great sheel ilove sheels

About the author

Anthony Doerr is the author of the New York Times bestselling Cloud Cuckoo Land, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, and All the Light We Cannot See, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the Carnegie Medal, the Alex Award, and a #1 New York Times bestseller. He is also the author of the story collections Memory Wall and The Shell Collector, the novel About Grace, and the memoir Four Seasons in Rome. He has won five O. Henry Prizes, the Rome Prize, the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Award, the National Magazine Award for fiction, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Story Prize. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Doerr lives in Boise, Idaho, with his wife and two sons.