The Bonesetter’s Fee and other stories

Judges' Comments

Don’t be deceived by the slimness of this collection — each story, indeed each word, holds great emotional weight. In 20 stories — many only a couple of pages long — you will be transported across the globe and into the minds of women of various backgrounds and ages, and each experience will feel gloriously immersive and believable.  

While not linked, there is a cohesion to the collection — it is a quiet and powerful meditation on migration and dislocation. But if you read this book for any reason, read it for its finely crafted sentences. Murphy, though early in her career, is already a master of the short story form.