Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea

Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea
AuthorSarah Pinsker
LanguageEnglish
GenreSpeculative fiction
PublisherSmall Beer Press
Publication date
March 19, 2019
Publication placeUnited States
Pages304
AwardPhilip K. Dick Award
ISBN978-1-61873-155-5

Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea is a 2019 short story collection by Sarah Pinsker. It includes thirteen stories, each incorporating elements of speculative fiction, most notably science fiction and fantasy.

Contents

  • "A Stretch of Highway Two Lanes Wide"
  • "And We Were Left Darkling" (originally published in Lightspeed, 2015[1])
  • "Remembery Day"
  • "Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea" (originally published in Lightspeed, 2016[2])
  • "The Low Hum of Her"
  • "Talking with Dead People"
  • "The Sewell Home for the Temporally Displaced"
  • "In Joy, Knowing the Abyss Behind" (originally published in Strange Horizons, 2013[3])
  • "No Lonely Seafarer" (originally published in Lightspeed, 2014[4])
  • "Wind Will Rove"
  • "Our Lady of the Open Road"
  • "The Narwhal"
  • "And Then There Were (N-One)" (originally published in Uncanny Magazine, 2017[5])

Themes

Several critics noted the atmosphere of loss, nostalgia, music and reinvention throughout the collection.[6][7] Gary K. Wolfe, in a review for Locus, wrote that memory "may be [Pinsker's] characteristic theme".[8] Publishers Weekly wrote that "In all of Pinsker’s tales, humans grapple with their relationships to technology, the supernatural, and one another."[9] Michelle Anne Schingler of Foreword Reviews observed that yearning was integral to many of the stories in the collection.[10]

Many of the protagonists of the stories in some way rebel against or break the norms of their society.[11] Many stories feature characters whose communities have been displaced in some way,[12] and the impact of social and technological change on culture is a recurring theme.[13] Kirkus Reviews wrote that "Pinsker’s characters are often loners dedicated to idiosyncratic artistic pursuits".[11]

The collection also prominently features LGBT characters,[9] and many of its themes tie into gender and sexuality. Alexander Carrigan of Lambda Literary noted that "Pinsker presents characters who are all over the LGBT+ spectrum, and in many cases, it allows for further reading and exploration of each story’s themes and characters."[14]

Reception

The collection received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Foreword Reviews, and Booklist.[9][15]

The collection appeared on lists of the best books of 2019 by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,[16] Fantasy & Science Fiction,[17] and BuzzFeed.[18]

Awards and Honors
Year Award Result Ref.
2020 Philip K. Dick Award Won [19]
World Fantasy Award—Collection Finalist [20]

References

  1. ^ Wagner, Wendy (2015-08-18). "And We Were Left Darkling". Lightspeed Magazine. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  2. ^ Wagner, Wendy (2016-02-16). "Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea". Lightspeed Magazine. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  3. ^ words, Sarah Pinsker Issue: 1 July 2013 4027 (2013-07-01). "In Joy, Knowing the Abyss Behind (Part 1 of 2)". Strange Horizons. Retrieved 2023-03-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Wagner, Wendy (2014-09-02). "No Lonely Seafarer". Lightspeed Magazine. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  5. ^ Words, Sarah Pinsker in Uncanny Magazine Issue Fifteen | 23786. "And Then There Were (N-One)". Uncanny Magazine. Retrieved 2023-03-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "SOONER OR LATER EVERYTHING FALLS INTO THE SEA". The Arkansas International. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  7. ^ "Book Review: Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker #20BooksofSummer". Way Too Fantasy. 2020-08-04. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  8. ^ "Gary K. Wolfe Reviews Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker". Locus Online. 2019-05-30. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  9. ^ a b c "Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  10. ^ "Review of Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea". www.forewordreviews.com. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  11. ^ a b SOONER OR LATER EVERYTHING FALLS INTO THE SEA | Kirkus Reviews.
  12. ^ "Sooner or Later Sarah Pinsker Breaks Your Heart and Puts It Back Together All Weird". Fiction Unbound. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  13. ^ Carroll, Tobias (April 1, 2019). "Where Futurism Meets the Liminal: The Short Fiction of Sarah Pinsker". Tor.com.
  14. ^ Carrigan, Alexander (2019-05-06). "'Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea' by Sarah Pinsker". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  15. ^ Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea, by By Sarah Pinsker. | Booklist Online.
  16. ^ Higgins, Jim. "Best books of 2019: Jim Higgins' picks include 'One Day,' '10 Minutes 38 Seconds' and 'When Life Gives You Pears'". Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  17. ^ "Fantasy and Science Fiction: Books To Look For by Charles de Lint". www.sfsite.com. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  18. ^ Rebolini, Arianna. "37 Spring Books To Get Excited About". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  19. ^ "Pinsker Wins Philip K. Dick Award". Locus. 13 Apr 2020. Retrieved 10 Jul 2025.
  20. ^ "World Fantasy Awards Winners". Locus. 1 Nov 2020. Retrieved 10 Jul 2025.
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