A review by smittybeans0018
How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer

5.0

I credit this collection of short stories, particularly "The Isabel Fish," with getting me into short fiction in the first place. I knew virtually nothing about the art of the short story until the pivotal moment when I read "The Isabel Fish" in my first creative writing workshop as a sophomore in college. I've read this collection almost three times since then. Julie Orringer's coming-of-age stories are touching, triumphant, sensitive, and poignant without ever being forced or insincere. One of my top five favorite books ever. I would recommend, however, if you're reading it for the first time, not to read the stories in order. I don't necessarily like her choice of first story, as I do not feel it to be similar to any of the others in the collection--thus, it does not do a satisfying job of setting up the stories to come. I'd say start with "The Isabel Fish" and then go all the way through.