Articles of Faith
“…written with deceptive simplicity…A wonderful collection of insight and empathy. ” —Anna Esaki-Smith, author of Meeting Luciano
“…compellingly and beautifully written. I cared about these characters—not only about what happens to them but about what Oness shows us about being human. These stories were so good that I just placed myself in her hands and kept on reading. ” —Judy Troy, author of From the Black Hills
“Elizabeth Oness' Articles of Faith has a strange and amazing range: her work is impressive for what it risks, and even more for what it achieves. She spares her characters nothing, because she loves them; she spares the reader nothing, either, which is, of course, the mark of a real writer. Each story is a moral puzzle, as weighty and intricate as a novel; each character is complicated and real. She is a tremendous and heartfelt and gutsy writer.” —Elizabeth McCracken
“ … Articles of Faith … is a skilled and evocative collection of short stories that revolve around the theme of failed communications. ” — Madison Magazine
“… the last two stories in Articles of Faith … gave this reader faith that the power of the short story remains immeasurable.”—Annie Dawid, The Ruminator Review
“ … this collection of eight stories heralds a fine new voice …Oness is a highly skilled writer whose stories are freighted with unique messages and perspectives.”—Publishers Weekly
In her award-winning collection, Elizabeth Oness travels a vast emotional terrain, from the loss of innocence to sexual betrayal to the helplessness of parents before their children. In “Momentum, ” a woman carries the burden of a dead friend's secret for years until she finally decides to reveal it, only to discover that other, darker secrets still lie in wait. “Rufus” follows the quandary of a young man who is forced to choose between the affection of his girlfriend and his compassion for a homeless man who has taken up residence in his car.
Articles of Faith is a collection of stories about silence and the complications that arise when a silence is kept too long or suddenly broken. As one narrator relates, “I knew that life was full of these things which matter so enormously and make us what we are—but remain unsaid because to voice them does not make them go away, and instead shakes everything around us apart. ”