Title: ‘The Hand’ by Tania Hershman
Collection/Anthology?: The White Road and Other Stories (Salt Publishing)
Date Read: 13 June 2011
Briefly: An orthodox Jew finds herself moments away from her first sexual encounter.
Afterthoughts: This is the first piece of flash fiction I’ve read in this collection, and what an absolute triumph it is. I like the story’s subtlety, and I like how in the space of four short paragraphs Tania has included everything that you would imagine a first sexual encounter to be – tense, anxious, rousing, and because of the religious element, full of doubt. Superb stuff!
Rating: 
This story was read as part of a review of Tania Hershman’s collection, The White Road and Other Stories. If you want to find out more about this collection then I invite you to either pop along and read my ‘forethoughts’ post on the collection, or to visit the product page on the publisher’s website.
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