Stephen King’s 1984 novel, Children of the Corn, burned the stark sense of horror into the minds of American readers with its graphic image of field and children whose innocence was forever lost. Samantha Schweblin’s opening story, “Headlights,” brings that field trope into the discussion of gender conflict. Her story marries King’s instinct for horror with Flannery O’Connor’s theological humor in “The Life You Save May Be Your Own.” But Schweblin probes a level of psychological complication that surpasses the grasp of either King or O’Connor. She moves relentlessly through the unique horror of the abandoned bride to the siren chorus of sisters singing in the field of renunciation. The darkly comic reversal magnifies the gender breach at the base of the story. The commandeering of the clown car passes on O’Connor’s sense of automotive power and identity. Tom T. Shiftlet can only wait for the light of redemption.

Reviews

• Chicago Review of Books
• Guardian
• Star Tribune
• Irish Times
• Slant
• New York Times

Interviews

• Lithub
• The Short Form
• Conversation — Luiselli and Schweblin
• Rain Taxi Review

Focus on Translation

• Paris Review
• Literary Hub
• BBC
• McDowell’s Website