Into the Widening World


Into the Widening World: International Coming-Of-Age Stories is a 1995 collection of 26 short fictional coming-of-age stories. Edited by John Loughery and published by Persea Books, it includes stories from numerous authors, including Nadine Gordimer, Ben Okri, Bharati Mukherjee, Alice Munro and Gabriel García Márquez.

Stories

South America and the Caribbean

North America

Europe and Russia

Africa and the Middle East

Asia and the South Pacific

Publication history

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Reception

Into the Widening World was well received by critics. According to Kirkus Reviews, the "collection is not just diverse: It's also good". They highlighted how "nearly all the voices are strong and distinct, resulting in an anthology that, taken as a whole, negotiates themes of universality and difference with unusual intelligence and imagination". Publishers Weekly described the collection as a "heartfelt anthology of brilliant voices", though noted that Loughery's introduction was "sometimes overburdened". They highlighted Zoë Wicomb's "unforgettable narrator" in her short story, "When the Train Comes", as well as Margareta Ekström's "The Nothingness Forest", Mario Vargas Llosa's "On Sunday", and Naguib Mahfouz's "The Conjurer Made Off with the Dish".
Booklist also reviewed the collection.