Fiction

The Rapture Index: A Suburban Bestiary

Winner of the BOA Short Fiction Prize
Longlisted for the 2020 PEN America/Robert W. Bingham Prize

Loosely based on the medieval bestiary, The Rapture Index examines the relationship between animals, humans, and storytelling. Harnessing the bestiary’s combination of religious parable, encyclopedia, and artifice, Molly Reid journeys deep into suburbia to reveal characters struggling to fulfill the expectations of society and family while indulging their baser desires. Filled with moments of curiosity, misunderstanding, fervor, and heart, these stories offer a new twist on familiar landscapes where the wilderness has been tamed (sometimes just barely) but our own animal nature cannot be.

Praise for The Rapture Index

“Thought-provoking, unthinkable, and fun, Reid’s debut is perfect for fans of David Lynch, Alissa Nutting, and George Saunders.” —Booklist

“Reid reveals a talent for discovering the humanity of her flawed human characters. Promising work from a writer interested in all creatures, great and small.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Inventive, adventurous, brilliant—dryly witty but often moving—Molly Reid, with this collection, confirms her great early promise, and emerges as one of the rising stars of the American story, long and short.” —James Wood

“The Rapture Index takes us on a journey of bestiary tales, but above all else, this book is a cataloguing of the human heart—the sexual, intimate, edgy, unspoken world of our animal selves. Told with true voice and talent, these stories do what art should do, which is to show us our humanity with renewed clarity and insight. Brilliantly written, this collection roars with passion and warmth.” —Laura Pritchett, author of Stars Go Blue, winner of the PEN USA Award for Fiction

“Molly Reid’s elegantly rabid stories depict the thrill and menace that lie just beneath the surface of what we call normal life. This collection feels dangerous and urgent and alive.” —Chris Bachelder, author of The Throwback Special, finalist for the National Book Award

“Molly Reid’s suburbs are akin to those of David Lynch or David Byrne—savvy, uncanny, and hissing with portent. Beneath each piece’s calm exterior lies the potential for humor, apocalypse, and animal violence. I tore through these quick and fresh stories, marveling at their imaginative scope and narrative command.” —Elena Passarello, author of Animals Strike Curious Poses

“How to describe the work of Molly Reid? Throw Aimee Bender and Donald Barthelme in a blender with Rick Bass, and you're almost there. But Reid sounds like no one so much as herself. She is an original voice, her debut startling and smart and assured. From whales to bees, dogs to alligators, this menagerie surprises, delights, and haunts with a force you won't soon forget.”
—David James Poissant, author of The Heaven of Animals

Publication Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-942683-82-7

© BOA Editions, Ltd. 2019

FormatPaperback

Publication DateMay 14, 2019

ISBN978-1-942683-82-7

$17.00

About the Author

Molly Reid’s debut collection of stories, The Rapture Index: A Suburban Bestiary, won the seventh annual BOA Short Fiction Prize. Her stories have appeared on NPR and in the journals TriQuarterly, Crazyhorse, The Pinch, Gulf Coast, Indiana Review, Redivider, and The Normal School, among others. She has received fellowship and residency support from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Millay Colony for the Arts, the Anderson Center, the Ucross Foundation, I-Park, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She is currently a PhD student at the University of Cincinnati, at work on a novel. For more information about Molly Reid, please visit mollyjeanreid.com.