One Sun Only - The Library of the Uncommons

Englsh language

Published Jan. 27, 2026 by Random House.

ISBN:: 978-0-593-72987-8
ASIN:: 0593729870

A stunning collection of stories exploring love and art, luck and loss, from the “invaluable” (George Saunders) author of How to Behave in a Crowd and The Material

A young woman takes stock after the burglary of her apartment. A teenager becomes obsessed with the obituaries in a weekly magazine. Grandchildren mourn the grandparents who loved them and the grandparents who didn’t. Painters and almost-painters try to distinguish Good Art from Bad Art. People grapple with life-altering illness, unrequited love, and promises they have every intention of keeping. Some win the lottery. Others don’t.

In these sinewy, thoughtful stories, celebrated New Yorker contributor Camille Bordas delves into the mysteries of life, death, and all that happens in between. At once darkly funny and poignantly self-aware, Bordas’s writing offers a window into our shared, flawed humanity without insisting on a perfect understanding of our experiences.

With her first …

A stunning collection of stories exploring love and art, luck and loss, from the “invaluable” (George Saunders) author of How to Behave in a Crowd and The Material

A young woman takes stock after the burglary of her apartment. A teenager becomes obsessed with the obituaries in a weekly magazine. Grandchildren mourn the grandparents who loved them and the grandparents who didn’t. Painters and almost-painters try to distinguish Good Art from Bad Art. People grapple with life-altering illness, unrequited love, and promises they have every intention of keeping. Some win the lottery. Others don’t.

In these sinewy, thoughtful stories, celebrated New Yorker contributor Camille Bordas delves into the mysteries of life, death, and all that happens in between. At once darkly funny and poignantly self-aware, Bordas’s writing offers a window into our shared, flawed humanity without insisting on a perfect understanding of our experiences.

With her first collection, which gathers previously unpublished stories alongside work originally featured in The New Yorker and The Paris Review, Bordas cements her reputation as a master of the form.

1 edition

4thace reviewed One Sun Only by Camille Bordas

Literary magazine readers will appreciate these

5 stars

This collection of stories was recommended to me by Netgalley based on items I read and rated before, and I am glad they did. Many have appeared previously in The New Yorker and The Paris Review. These are all stories about ordinary people, though story-universe celebrities and other people of stature occasionally wander past their lives, and their main activity is just trying to figure out how to get through their lives the best they can. There are romantic partners, siblings, parents and children, people who meet by chance, some with complicated pasts, some with uncertain futures. These might not be the kind of people I would want to read about for an entire novel but I was perfectly happy to spend time with for an hour or so. I think in each case the author provided a reasonable way for the reader to take their leave, whether or not …

This collection of stories was recommended to me by Netgalley based on items I read and rated before, and I am glad they did. Many have appeared previously in The New Yorker and The Paris Review. These are all stories about ordinary people, though story-universe celebrities and other people of stature occasionally wander past their lives, and their main activity is just trying to figure out how to get through their lives the best they can. There are romantic partners, siblings, parents and children, people who meet by chance, some with complicated pasts, some with uncertain futures. These might not be the kind of people I would want to read about for an entire novel but I was perfectly happy to spend time with for an hour or so. I think in each case the author provided a reasonable way for the reader to take their leave, whether or not every plot point ends up being resolved or not.

The style is the kind that will appeal to readers interested in character nuances, but don't care as much about strong suspense or drama. You have to be fine with reading while feeling uncertainty. I would personally enjoy looking at this author's previous books.

I read this book as an advance reader copy through Netgalley in exchange for sharing my review.