Nightjar cover art

Nightjar

A stunning collection of stories from the prizewinning author, about the power of unexpected intuitions in ordinary lives

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Nightjar

By: Emily Ruskovich
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

From the critically acclaimed, prizewinning author of Idaho comes a stunning collection of stories that explore the rural landscape of the far Northwestern US, and how unexpected intuitions forever alter the lives of ordinary people.

Five years after moving into the isolated house in rural Oregon where her husband lived as a child, the protagonist of 'Victor’s Room' begins to doubt her husband’s account of his family’s past. In 'Round Lake', a young woman’s plans to meet a lover in Tokyo are upended when she learns a startling truth about her mother’s death. In 'Owl', a fur trapper reckons with the dreadful origins of his marriage after his wife is brutally injured by four adolescent boys.

Haunting and psychologically provocative, and set against the vivid backdrop of the rural Northwestern US, Nightjar illuminates the secret, instinctive knowledge that lies just under the surface of our awareness.

Praise for Idaho

'Writing that has the cool sharpness of lemonade . . . Unflinching, unfrilly, multi-layered storytelling that is both beautiful and devastating' Rachel Joyce

'You're in masterly hands here... will remind many of the great Idaho novel, Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping . . . wrenching and beautiful' New York Times Book Review

'From the first page it is clear that Ruskovich's poetic, spare writing would be enough to compel on its own, but this extraordinary story of a violent event that decimates a young family in northern Idaho is the true engine here . . . enthrals from the outset' Lucy Clark, Guardian

© Emily Ruskovich 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

Anthologies & Short Stories Genre Fiction Short Stories Small Town & Rural United States World Literature
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Critic reviews

These are exquisite short stories. They disturb, delight and linger long after finishing (LOUISE KENNEDY, author of Trespasses)
To read Emily Ruskovich is to unwrap a gift: her stories are surprising, rewarding, beautiful. There are strange love affairs, hearts gently breaking, cherished childhood memories that turn out to be untrue; in clear and distinctive prose, she evokes the epic scope of quiet lives (PAULA HAWKINS)
These are marvelous and unsettling stories. Ruskovich’s prose is lambent, the relationships between her characters are thorny, complex, and mesmerizing, and the shapes of her stories constantly surprise. I loved Nightjar (KELLY LINK, author of The Book of Love)
Ruskovich blends urgent pacing with lush wooded scenery and intimate psychological details. It’s a marvel
In this exquisitely tailored collection of five stories, Ruskovich plumbs the depths of mystery, memory, and the quiet grief of intimacy... Like Idaho, this book has a compelling slipperiness, both in time and reality... A portal to a haunting, liminal Pacific Northwest
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