“In
Sunlight or in Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper,” edited by Lawrence Block
(Pegasus):
If a picture is worth a thousand words, any of Edward Hopper’s
paintings of American loneliness is worth an entire short story. Here 17
contemporary authors imagine the Depression-era backgrounds to various Hopper
masterpieces. Consider the matchups: Michael Connelly with that apotheosis of
the urban diner, “Nighthawks,” Lee Child with the bleak “Hotel Lobby,” Joyce
Carol Oates and the naked woman at the window of “Eleven A.M.,” Stephen King
and the alienated couple of “Room in New York,” and Megan Abbott with “The
Girlie Show.” Ekphrasis — seeing a story in a picture — was seldom so much fun.
