A tremendous author of novels and short stories. Has translated many novels from French to English; her translation of Marcel Proust's Swann's Way will be published in 2002. A very informal style, and not afraid of alternate narratives. Some of her short stories are very light-hearted (and quite short), though most of her work is more introspective. Currently teaching at Bard College, married to painter Alan Cote.
Samuel Johnson is Indignant (2001) - published by
McSweeney's
Almost No Memory (1998)
The End of the Story (1995)
Break It Down (1986)
Story and Other Stories (1983)
Sketches for a Life of Wassily (1981)
The Thirteenth Woman (1976)
The End of the Story is a novel; the rest are collections of short stories. Only the three most recent titles are relatively easy to find; for the rest you'd likely have to try a really good library or many used book stores. Also, Davis has a mini-homepage at http://www.previewport.com/Home/davis.html where you can order many of her books.
"All over the city there are old black women who have been employed to call up people at seven in the morning and ask in a muffled voice to speak to Lisa. This provides work for them that they can do at home. These women are part of a larger corps of city employees engaged to call wrong numbers. The highest earner of all is an Indian from India who is able to insist that he does not have the wrong number."
- from "
City Employment",
Break It Down