“Colorín Colorado,” by Camille Bordas

“I should have said earlier that Addie died last summer, while filming the last part of the trilogy that made her famous.”

“The Kitchen God,” by Hiromi Kawakami

“Stucco tastes great, but it doesn’t fill me up.”

“P’s Parties,” by Jhumpa Lahiri

“Who was that woman? Why had she been so open with me, so unguarded, instantly bridging the solitary distance between two strangers?”

“False Star,” by Sterling HolyWhiteMountain

“As far back as I could remember, I had heard discussion of claim checks.”

“How I Became a Vet,” by Rivka Galchen

“The suicide dogs, like most of us, were not what they seemed.”

“The Last Grownup,” by Allegra Goodman

“The paperwork was done, and it was weird and painful, like picking off a scab, because the marriage itself had ended two years before.”

“My Sad Dead,” by Mariana Enriquez

“I stay because my mother lives here. Can I say that about a dead woman?”

“The Middle Voice,” by Han Kang

“It first happened the winter after she turned sixteen. The language that had pricked and confined her like clothing made from a thousand needles abruptly disappeared.”

“Different People,” by Clare Sestanovich

“When Gilly was young, she lied to her diary.”

“Wednesday’s Child,” by Yiyun Li

“ ‘Never argue’ was Rosalie’s motto; especially, never argue with the dead.”