If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This: Fiction

Robin Black

Mar 2010 · Sold by Random House

About this ebook

FINALIST FOR THE FRANK O’CONNOR SHORT STORY AWARD

NOW WITH AN ADDITIONAL STORY.

Heralding the arrival of a stunning new voice in American fiction, If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This takes readers into the minds and hearts of people navigating the unsettling transitions that life presents to us all: A father struggles to forge an independent identity as his blind daughter prepares for college. A mother comes to terms with her adult daughter’s infidelity. An artist mourns the end of a romance while painting the portrait of a dying man. Brilliant, hopeful, and fearlessly honest, If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This illuminates the truths of human relationships, truths we come to recognize in these characters and in ourselves. 

BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Robin Black's Life Drawing.

Look for the If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This discussion guide inside.

Praise for If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This

“I want to shout about how just when you thought no one could write a story with any tinge of freshness let alone originality about childhood. . . about marriage . . . about old age, Black has done it. . . . Black delivers real emotion, the kind that gives you pause. . . . Will Robin Black win [the Pen/Hemingway Prize] for this book? If I were a judge, she would.”—Alan Cheuse, Chicago Tribune 

“Pitch-perfect . . . so deft, so understated, and so compelling that you have to slow down to savor each vignette. . . . Fans of Mary Gaitskill, Amy Bloom, and Miranda July will feel like they’ve found gold in a river when they discover Robin Black. . . . [A] writer to watch.”—O: The Oprah Magazine

“Each story reads like a mini-novel . . . worlds are contained in a single page. And the writing . . . oh, the writing . . . There’s no narrative cohesion, no point.  Rather, If I Loved You is a ‘Fantastic Voyage’ into the bloodstream of the human species. . . . Maybe it’s midlife maturity, maybe it’s raw talent, but If I Loved You leaves you longing for more."—San Francisco Chronicle

“Incisive . . . peopled with characters so fully imagined you’ll feel they’re in the room.”—People

"Exquisitely distilled tales of loss and reckoning . . . [Black] evokes a Sparkian blend of skepticism and grace."—Vogue

Ratings and reviews

It sounds amazing. I am just sorry that I can't buy it yet as it's not yet available in SA. My Husband and I had 2 life altering things happen to us since 2010. I had a massive breakdown due to incredible work and personal stressors and was diagnosed with PTSD, Major Depression and later that same year with Frontal Lobe Syndrome. I was thus placed on Medical Pension at 32. My life consited of Dr.'s appointments, drugs and EST, my husbband had to drive me around, there is a 3.5 year gap in my memmory and then to top it off was also diagnosed with Fibro Myalgia. Then just as I setteled with my Medication, my husband was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer at 45. We went through such a bad time between his diagnosis and treatment and now our lives are basically that off 2 good freinds living together. I must admit that there is 1 song that I held close to my heart during the past 8 years, that has helped me and it is closely related to the theme off this book "If tomrrow never comes". I have always been very open to people about my love for them, thus they never had to wonder, but it is what I remind myself when thing go bad. I can't wait to read the book!

About the author

Robin Black’s stories and essays have appeared in numerous publications, including One Story, Colorado Review, The Georgia Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, Bellevue Literary Review, The Southern Review, and the anthology The Best Creative Nonfiction. The winner of many awards and a recipient of fellowships from the Leeway Foundation and the MacDowell Colony, Black is a graduate of the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers. She lives with her family in Philadelphia.