The stories in A Better Angel describe the terrain of human suffering-illness, regret, mourning, sympathy-in the most unusual of ways. In "Stab," a bereaved twin starts a friendship with a homicidal fifth grader in the hope that she can somehow lead him back to his dead brother. In "Why Antichrist?" a boy tries to contact the spirit of his dead father and finds himself talking to the Devil instead. In the remarkable title story, a ne'er do well pediatrician returns home to take care of his dying father, all the while under the scrutiny of an easily-disappointed heavenly agent.
With Gob's Grief and The Children's Hospital, Chris Adrian announced himself as a writer of rare talent and originality. The stories in A Better Angel, some of which have appeared in The New Yorker, Tin House, and McSweeney's, demonstrate more of his endless inventiveness and wit, and they confirm his growing reputation as a most exciting and unusual literary voice-of heartbreaking, magical, and darkly comic tales.
"[A Better Angel]...is held forward in the pared beauty of Adrian's unshowy, lambent prose and gives the collection almost a bottomless depth."
San Francisco Chronicle
"The title story, which combines dark comedy and deep pathos, is not only the standout of this volume but also one of the best stories published in recent memory. Adrian has been known as a writer's writer, but with this book, readers would do well to stake their claim."
Radhika Jones, Time
"Mr. Adrian is a gifted, courageous writer -- as demonstrated in his well-received novels, "Gob's Grief" and "The Children's Hospital" -- and with this collection he continues to take far-reaching risks. Unspeakable grief and the innate will to survive create opposing forces in these stories, producing a universe bursting with humor and life."
