Best New American Voices 2007

Guest editor Miller presents the cream of the nation's writing workshops, and though none is stylistically or structurally groundbreaking, the stories' strengths lie in their collective polish and their varied and assured voices. Yiyun Li's ""Persimmons"" is rooted in folklore, while M.O. Walsh's ""The Freddies"" bears the fractured echoes of a post-modern sensibility. ""Syra,"" by Fatima Rashid, follows an illegal Middle Eastern immigrant separated from his family, while ""Whatever Happened to Sebastien Grosjean?"" is interested in the self-fashioned drama of over-privileged Duke graduates. Perhaps the best story in the batch is the final selection, ""Winter Never Quits,"" by T. Geronimo Johnson, about a Ph.D. student who attempts to kick his cocaine habit while preparing his dissertation defense. Every story won't work for everyone, but there's something in here for most tastes.