Three Scenarios in Which Hana Sasaki Grows a Tail — Kelly Luce

Set in Japan, Luce's playful, tender stories -- reminiscent of Haruki Murakami and Aimee Bender -- tip into the fantastical, plumb the power of memory, and measure the human capacity to love. The award-winning narratives in this mesmerizing debut trace the lives of ex-pats, artists, and outsiders as they seek to find their place in the world. Hana Sasaki beguiles and surprises: stories include an oracular toaster, a woman who grows a tail, and a most unusual kind of sex reassignment.