“Brilliant...Weil seems most comfortable writing Deborah Eisenberg-length stories of 25 to 50-plus pages that can read more as novellas, in the best way possible. They are patient and provocative, nuanced and far-reaching. For their breadth, intensity and audacity of ambition, the stories of "The Age of Perpetual Light" situate themselves as natural heirs to such masterpieces as Denis Johnson's "Train Dreams" and James Joyce's "The Dead.”” — The New York Times Book Review
"A rich, often dazzling collection...Weil's stories are engrossing, persuasively detailed and written with a deep affection for the way language can, in masterful hands, convey us to marvelous new worlds.”
"A collection of eight stellar short stories, several bordering on novella length. As with his first book of short fiction, New Valley (2009), Weil returns to themes of isolation and desire, this time threading a thematic brightness throughout, taking on electrification, modernity, and illumination in myriad forms.…each one of Weil’s magical, memorable stories carries “this charge in all our hearts, this flash that fires in us even now, this spark that drives us ever forward.”
“This collection blends the evolving technology of light with its multifaceted impact on people's lives. The characters and settings are crafted with an ethereal skill that sets the mind spinning into new orbits....Highly recommended for the discerning reader.”
“The Age of Perpetual Light burns in the imagination like a set of lanterns, illuminating rare human spaces in the darkness of history...Weil is an immense talent, a writer who can craft convincing characters, with distinct voice and ethos, and also elevate narrative language to a level of poetry…The Age of Perpetual Light is the result of an original mind working at the nexus of known history and poetic imagination. The collection is luminous throughout, its impressions and insights into the human condition coalescing like wondrous heat on a cold night.”
"Weil showcases his narrative abilities in these offbeat and spirited stories...The breadth of subject matter and styles is impressive, defying easy categorization and making the stories all the more memorable."
The Age of Perpetual Light spans the course of history to examine the miseries and ambitions of humanity, tracing the mysteries of light and darkness that have long confounded and mesmerized us...The eight stories in Weil’s collection...all share revelations into the heartbreak and inspiring moments that shape the human spirit...Weil beautifully illustrates the conviction that as we all bear witness to the continual rising and extinguishing of its power, the “light,” and our moth-like attraction to it, can keep us bound both to its elemental force and to each other.
-Insight on Capital Public Radio. Click here to listen.
- First Draft on Aspen Public Radio. Click here to listen.
-TK Podcast with James Scott and Cheston Knapp. Click here to listen.
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