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Brawler

By Lauren Groff
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Brief Description
The latest short story collection from the bestselling author of Matrix and Fates and Furies "Groff reminds us of the myriad human galaxies around us, spinning off brightly into the dark." MELISSA HARRISON, author of All Among the Barley One of our best writers, Lauren Groff... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
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A major launch from one of America's leading literary fiction writers, coming in spring 2026.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The latest short story collection from the bestselling author of Matrix and Fates and Furies

"Groff reminds us of the myriad human galaxies around us, spinning off brightly into the dark." MELISSA HARRISON, author of All Among the Barley

One of our best writers, Lauren Groff returns with a fierce new story collection, her first since the award-winning and bestselling Florida.

Ranging from the 1950s to the present day and moving across age, class, and region - from New England to Florida to California - these nine stories reflect and expand upon a single shared theme: the ceaseless battle between the dark and light in all of us.

Among those caught in this match are a young woman suddenly responsible for her disabled sibling; a hot-tempered high school swimmer in need of an adult; a mother blinded by the loss of her family; and a banking scion endowed with a different kind of inheritance. Motivated by love, impeded by human fallibility, they try to do the right thing for as long as they can.

Precise, surprising and provocative, anchored by profound insight into human nature, Brawler reveals the repeated fracture points between love and fear, compassion and violence, reason and instinct, altruism and survival. It is a timeless, stunning achievement from one of the very best short story writers working today.

Praise for Lauren Groff

"Her writing has a timeless quality" The Times on The Vaster Wilds

"Groff's writing is muscular and precise, her themes wildly resonant" Sunday Times on Matrix

"An audacious piece of storytelling, full of passion, wisdom and magic" Sarah Waters on Matrix

"It's as brightly lit as an illuminated manuscript" Naomi Alderman on Matrix

"One of its stories is a bracing read; together they form a masterpiece" Stylist on Florida

"She's a writer whose turn of phrase can stop you in your tracks" Financial Times on Florida

"Easily the year's best story collection" Vogue on Florida

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781529152890

Publisher: Cornerstone

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 05 March 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Hutchinson Heinemann

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 20.0mm

Width: 135.0mm

Height: 216.0mm

Weight: 300g

Pages: 272

Collections

Anonymous Best Sellers at Book Hero Fiction General Fiction In Stock Books In-Stock Fiction Books Lauren Groff Literary Fiction Mother's Day Fiction Mother's Day Gifts New Release Fiction Penguin Books

About the Author

Lauren Groff is a three-time National Book Award finalist and the New York Times bestselling author of five novels, including Fates and Furies, Matrix, and The Vaster Wilds, and two other story collections, including Florida. Winner of The Story Prize and the Joyce Carol Oates Prize, she has also been a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her work regularly appears in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and elsewhere, and her books have been translated into thirty-six languages. She lives in Gainesville, Florida, where she and her husband own the independent bookstore The Lynx.

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