Pulse Points

`Pulse Points consolidates [Down's] reputation as a remarkable young writer. Her stories are effortlessly global yet strongly anchored in place. They testify to Down's remarkable powers of observation and her ability to create bleak but engaging worlds.' * Michelle de Kretser, Best Books of 2017, Australian Book Review * `Jennifer Down is going to be a major part of the future of Australian literature. The quality of her writing, as well as her ability to tap into the loves, fears and anxieties many of us experience guarantee this.' * Readings * `[Down's] back with a collection of stories, cementing her status as one of Australia's finest literary talents.' * Marie Claire * `In this astonishing collection of short stories, Jennifer Down weaves intricate and moving portraits of love and loss...A powerful new talent.' * Weekly Times * `Pulse Points is fluid, graceful and shocking. Down serves life up ruthlessly to us, in small, heart-wrenching packages, overturning expectations swiftly from story to story, but leaving us faintly uplifted in the end.' * Overland * `Down's ability to inhabit the minds of her characters is eerily good, and no two voices in this collection seem alike. Her prose is tight and original. This is the sort of book that bibliophiles will delight in underlining, collecting those sentences too good to leave on the page...It is a collection which will bring you to your knees.' * AU Review * `These stories are studies in concision and with their strong social justice message they function like shocks. Though they are often about the disempowered, they ripple out with a seismic intensity, hinting at just how far this dazzling young writer might go.' * Australian * `Pulse Points is an impressively poised and even collection...Down's stories are alive with psychological acuity and technical dexterity. They offer thoughtful, sometimes heartbreaking, insights into our anxieties and desires...Readers of her intelligent, subtle, and affecting prose clearly have much to look forward to.' * Australian Book Review * `One of the most heartbreakingly beautiful books I have ever read.' * Hot Chicks With Big Brains * `Down is exemplary at drawing whole characters and quickly giving them depth. Stories are heavy with atmosphere, and words are chosen with care...She has a knack of talking honestly about the nature of contemporary life, and I look forward to more.' * Sydney Morning Herald * `Taking the reader from Melbourne to the USA, each beautifully crafted story is a fascinating escape into someone else's life.' * Sunday Life * `I honestly couldn't recommend Pulse Points more highly. These are snapshots of ordinary people grappling with the small joys and deeper heartaches of ordinary lives, and the result is a powerful and deeply affecting collection.' * Readings * `Pulse Points is beautiful. It's a bit like opening a sketchbook and brushing a hand against all the charcoal nudes inside...Down has insight into the human condition beyond her years and a talent for writing realism in unwaveringly sharp prose. In Pulse Points she uses these skills to make a statement about the many different hearts beating in the one universe, however unrelated they may seem. As with Our Magic Hour, readers will feel safe in the hands of such a skilful writer, one able to turn her awareness of the human condition into measured and universal storytelling.' -- Anna Spargo-Ryan, Kill Your Darlings `This is a finely crafted collection that reminds us how sad and beautiful it is simply to be alive. Down's debut novel, Our Magic Hour, was shortlisted for the NSW Premier's Award for New Writing and she was named a 2017 SMH Best Young Australian Novelist. It's probably insulting to comment upon how young she is, but the emotional depth of her writing displays a gift that will no doubt continue to unfold as her body of work grows.' * Saturday Paper * `Jennifer Down is a subtly extraordinary writer, and Pulse Points is one of the best Australian literary offerings we'll see this year.' * Good Reading * `Pulse Points isn't just made up of technical proficiencies and clever motifs, it is a quick heartbeat.' * Writers Bloc * `Pulse Points exceeds all expectations...Pulse Points has the precise, arresting prose and depth of feeling of Our Magic Hour, but the short story form magnifies Down's skill...There are no weak moments here...A human pulse runs through this collection; these stories live and breathe, and as a result Pulse Points is powerful and deeply affecting.' * Readings * `A haunting and evocative collection of stories about quietly courageous characters facing loss in its many forms.' * Abigail Ulman * `A master of short fiction, this short story collection brings together works including her prize-winning `Aokigahara'...Down's prose isn't afraid of dark subject matter, and handles this with a sharpness and clarity that is a delight to read.' * Herald Sun * `With precise and beautiful prose, the short stories in Jennifer Down's Pulse Points carry an emotional clarity and intensity that is truly impressive.' * Books + Publishing * `An emotionally sophisticated and impressive novel.' * Australian Book Review on </i>Our Magic Hour * `Down's evocation of Audrey's grief is astute, perceptive and always convincing...It's compelling writing.' * Australian on </i>Our Magic Hour * `All the rapture and calamity of youth. Jennifer Down is a writer of rare insight and heart.' -- Carrie Tiffany on </i>Our Magic Hour<i>