No Harm Done by Jean McGarry
Jean McGarry's ninth book, No Harm Done, is a collection of fifteen short stories that examines family life through a lens of dark humor and unflinching honesty. The collection merges the absurdist comedy of Cold Comfort Farm with the sharp social commentary found in Dubliners, creating a distinctive voice in contemporary American literature.
Stories of Family and Marriage
The characters populating these stories range from gallant to grim, goofy to gifted. McGarry portrays sickly mothers managing a dozen children, alcoholic fathers with exceptional storytelling abilities, and young people dreaming of religious vocations or simply escaping their circumstances intact. As the author notes in "Strong Boy," "every family, rich or poor, is roughage."
One section focuses on an unlikely marriage between a Jewish psychoanalyst and his ex-nun wife—a pairing made in heaven despite its unconventional origins. Another set of stories reimagines familiar fairy tales, transporting them into contemporary settings where the wild present collides with timeless narratives.
Literary Style and Themes
The title No Harm Done functions as Irish code for wishful thinking, a phrase that captures the collection's exploration of denial, resilience, and the stories families tell themselves. McGarry's fiction is character-driven, balancing bitter grievances with moments of genuine comedy. The collection concludes with what the author presents as a truce in the war between the sexes and a potential solution to the tragicomedy inherent in marriage and family life.
About Jean McGarry
A Rhode Island native, Jean McGarry serves as Elliott Coleman Professor of Fiction in The Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University. Her previous works include Ocean State, A Bad and Stupid Girl, and her debut Airs of Providence. Published by Dalkey Archive Press, No Harm Done represents McGarry's continued examination of domestic fiction through a literary lens, offering readers both entertainment and insight into the complexities of family dynamics.
