Our Book of the Month July 2026 is the short story collection Brawler by Lauren Groff. Deftly exploring the battle between darkness and light that rages within all of us, Brawler is an electrifying collection from a master of the short story form.
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Book of the Month July 2026
Brawler by Lauren Groff
Ranging from the 1950s to the present day and moving across age, class, and region – from New England to Florida to California – these nine stories reflect and expand upon a single shared theme: the ceaseless battle between the dark and light in all of us.
Among those caught in this match are a young woman suddenly responsible for her disabled sibling; a hot-tempered high school swimmer in need of an adult; a mother blinded by the loss of her family; and a banking scion endowed with a different kind of inheritance. Motivated by love, impeded by human fallibility, they try to do the right thing for as long as they can.
Precise, surprising and provocative, anchored by profound insight into human nature, Brawler reveals the repeated fracture points between love and fear, compassion and violence, reason and instinct, altruism and survival. It is a timeless, stunning achievement from one of the very best short story writers working today.
“Groff is one of this country’s most successful and versatile literary figures… [These stories] seem like a homecoming, and honestly, something of a relief. If they have a shared theme, it is how the bedrock of family crumbles, and its members are forced to shift into new formations, occasionally tectonic.”—New York Times
“Few collections have an opener as powerful and instantly classic as Brawler’s…Brawler captures a towering talent and follows protagonists caught in the undertow of their messiest emotions…instead of easy epiphanies, [Groff] offers glimpses of acute clarity, meaning or happiness. They will not repeat; but they are enough to carry you through a life.” —Financial Times
“Lauren Groff is one of our most acclaimed writers of fiction and one of our most dedicated and generous literary citizens…[Brawler] wallops its reader with ferocious honesty and searing emotional force even as it demonstrates artistic delicacy, intellectual subtlety, and ethical nuance.” —The Boston Globe
“Lauren Groff is required reading: Her newest stories prove she’s among the best in the game.”—Los Angeles Times
“Returning to her most lethal form. . .Groff proves she’s still at the top of her game—and then she rises higher. The nine stories in Brawler capture ordinary lives at moments of rupture and transcendence….Unremittingly life-affirming, glowing with descriptions that will make you see the world with new wonder and shot through with moments of grace that would make even Flannery O’Connor jealous.” —Oprah Daily
“Anyone who picks up the book and idly starts reading the first story will be unable to stop without finishing it…Each of the nine rich tales has enough character detail and intrigue to fill a full-length novel…Groff also is hilarious, provocative and plenty of other adjectives. Long story short: Brawler is a knockout.” —Minnesota Star Tribune
“Her stories wrap intricate emotional nets around the reader…Brawler is both addictive and painful, the perfect size for a short story collection, each tale its own saturated, heavy narrative, weighted down with hope and hurt.”—Chicago Review of Books
Also by Lauren Groff
Florida
In these vigorous stories, Lauren Groff brings her electric storytelling to a world in which storms, snakes and sinkholes lurk at the edge of everyday life, but the greater threats are of a human, emotional and psychological nature. Among those navigating it all are a resourceful pair of abandoned sisters; a lonely boy, grown up; a restless, childless couple; a searching, homeless woman; and an unforgettable conflicted wife and mother.
Florida is an exploration of the connections behind human pleasure and pain, hope and despair, love and fury.
Delicate Edible Birds
Delicate Edible Birds is a short story collection from acclaimed writer Lauren Groff. Spanning from 1910s New York to Second World War France and contemporary America, these dazzlingly varied stories full of fervour and insight cement Groff as one of the foremost talents of her generation
If you enjoyed Book of the Month July 2026, check out Most Anticipated Translated Fiction 2026 Part 2 (July – Dec)